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Paedophile caught by undercover policewoman is sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court


By Ali Morrison

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Calum Thomson.
Calum Thomson.

A SHERIFF has warned a convicted paedophile he faces going to jail if he offends again or breaches a supervision order.

Calum Thomson was caught in a police trap to snare adults grooming children for indecent images to share on social media.

The 56-year-old of Bruce Gardens, Inverness already had a similar previous conviction and was being monitored by the authorities.

Thomson was sending sexual images to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl between February 3 and 13.

But in fact they were being sent to an undercover policewoman.

Sentence had been deferred for a background report at Inverness Sheriff Court.

The court previously heard that he was one of two sex offenders who had joined a social media group which was under police investigation.

Thomson sent more than 230 messages in the 10-day period in February, asking for indecent photographs of her and urging her to perform sex acts in them.

He also sent two indecent photographs of a man's genitals and a naked male torso.

In his social media profile, he claimed he was 20 years younger and lived in Scotland, fiscal depute Robert Weir said.

On March 2, police raided his home and confiscated several devices but only the two images he had sent were recovered.

Defence solicitor Laura-Jane McFarlane told Sheriff Gary Aitken this morning: "He fully accepts he needs help. One reason he does not want custody is that he resides with his elderly father who he cares for."

Ms McFarlane said social workers believed there was work that could be done with Thomson to help him stop his behaviour.

Sheriff Aitken placed him on supervision and the Sex Offenders' Register for three years and ordered Thomson to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

But any breach of supervision or failure to complete the programme requirement would result in him facing a jail sentence.

Thomson was previously placed on the Sex Offenders' Register and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work in July 2017 after pleading guilty to a similar offence.


View our fact sheet on court reporting here




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