Paedo posed as schoolgirl to lure teens
Pervert harassed youngsters with sexual remarks online
A PERVERT posed as a schoolgirl online to harass teenagers with sleazy comments and questions.
Warren Costello, 47, used Facebook to prey on girls with whom he was already friends online.
He set up a profile, claiming to be called Emily Cairns and to be a pupil at Kyle Academy in Ayr, the town’s sheriff court was told yesterday.
But one of the girls he targeted was sharp-witted enough to spot similarities between Emily’s writing style and Costello’s.
When the pervert’s home was searched and his phone seized, horrifying images of child porn were found on his phone.
Yesterday, when he was released on bail after admitting a number of offences, he fled to avoid questions.
Hayley Robertson, prosecuting, said Costello’s first victim, aged 15, accepted a friend request from “Emily” on November 2, 2016.
The prosecutor said: “She thought it was a member of the cycling club. She became suspicious of the messages when they turned sexual.”
The comments from Emily included: “You look fit” and a question about whether her backside got sore while riding a bike, Robertson said.
She added: “She described feeling creeped out by these messages and blocked the account.”
The 15-year-old was friends with Costello on Facebook and had exchanged messages with him – but only about cycling. However, she picked up on the similarities with Emily’s writing.
Costello also added another 15-yearold with whom he was already friends with on Facebook.
Robertson said: “She (the girl) viewed the profile and saw she (Emily) lived in Ayr and attended Kyle Academy.”
After an initial “hello”, the fake Emily wrote that the teenager had “great breasts”.
The victim did not reply and the messages stopped.
Police were informed about the online harassment and officers searched Costello’s home.
Cybercrime officers found a stash of child porn images on his phone – some with the most serious Category A rating.
Peter Lockhart, defending, said his client had co-operated with the police investigation.
He asked Sheriff Carole Cunninghame to continue bail pending sentence, which was granted.
But Sheriff Cunninghame warned Costello, who has now moved to Paisley, that being given bail was not a reflection on his actual sentence.
Costello pled guilty to directing sexual verbal communication to four teenagers for the purpose of sexual gratification or of causing them to be humiliated, distressed or alarmed.
He also admitted taking indecent photos of children or permitting them to be taken.