A Forres man had admitted grooming a child after being snared by a vigilante posing as a 12-year-old girl.
Michael Hall, 24, appeared in Elgin Sheriff Court after admitting the offence which took place in July 2021.
Hall sat in the dock as fiscal depute David Morton read the details of his sick messages to the decoy.
He was charged with sending messages to a woman, who he thought was a 12-year-old girl, and trying to “obtain sexual gratification” from her between July 19 and 20.
Sexual messages
Hall was said to have sent messages of a sexual nature, instructed her to carry out sex acts and described sexual activity to the girl.
Mr Morton told the court the woman posing as the child was a member of the paedophile hunting group and she had set up a profile on social media pretending to be a 12-year-old girl.
“Initially the messages from Hall were non-sexual,” Mr Morton said. “And they spoke about school and homework.
“On July 19 they turned to a sexual nature, with Hall introducing the idea of pornography.
“The woman replied to say she didn’t understand what pornography was and Hall said he wanted to explain it to her.”
Hall then continued with some increasingly sexualised messages.
Police contacted and man arrested
The decoy contacted the Police Scotland sending the evidence she had gathered, and Hall was investigated and charged.
Hall’s defence agent Stephen Carty said his client had not offended since and had pleaded guilty at an early stage.
Sheriff David Harvie said it was a “very sorry” matter and a custodial sentence was an option.
“You appear before the court with no record, and you have cooperated fully with the preparation of the report.
“The offence happened three years ago and you have not come to the attention of the courts in that period.
“On balance, I will deal with this with a direct alternative to a custodial sentence. However, failing to comply with this Community Payback Order will result in custody.”
Hall was ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, reduced from 270 hours due to his early plea. He was placed under supervision for 18 months and placed on the sex offenders register for the same length of time.
Hall, of Grant Road West, Forres, was ordered to appear at Elgin Sheriff Court on September 19 for a review hearing.
