A man told police he hates social media after being caught in a probe organized by a pedophile vigilante.
Barry Gorman, 42, reached out to teens aged 12 and 14 on Facebook and struck up conversations with them.
Little did he know, however, that he was communicating with adults working covertly for a group called Stop UK.
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He bombarded both accounts with sleazy and depraved messages despite being repeatedly told they were under the age of 16.
In one text, he claimed, “Age is just a number,” before adding, “You’re young enough to be my daughter.”
A girl was then given an explicit picture of Gorman while his inappropriate contact continued.
Members of the group tried to get to his home address but received false information and called the police.
He was later arrested and told police, “I think I know what this is about, I hate social media.”
When questioned by officers, he claimed he “passed out” after drinking alcohol, but could not explain why the messages were sent from his phone.
Gorman, from Blantyre, appeared in Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted indecent contact with both decoys in September last year.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Rebecca Clark said: “Both women work in decoy roles for a group called Stop UK.”
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“One is a 14-year-old decoy on Facebook using a picture of a young girl, while the other uses a 12-year-old girl’s name with a picture of a young girl on Facebook.”
“They received friend requests from the defendants and messages were exchanged.”
The prosecutor added: “The group that contacted the defendant went to his presumed home address, but when they got there the address was incorrect.”
“They then contacted the police, who contacted the accused and were able to be present at his address.
“He was arrested and cautioned and said, ‘I think I know what this is about, I hate social media too’.”
“He was questioned about texting a 12- and 14-year-old but he said he had not, saying he passed out from alcohol poisoning and reiterated that he had not texted a child.”
Sheriff John Hamilton KC delayed Gorman’s sentence over charges and continued bail.
Gorman was placed on the sex offender registry.
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