Mum saved teen from online beast
CLARE, 16, was contacted by McCuaig through Facebook in September 2016 when she was only 14.
He had appeared on her timeline, perhaps because he had liked a friend’s post.
Under a fake profile picture, he liked her posts and when he sent her a friend request, she accepted.
Clare had just moved to a new area and school and she was keen to meet new people.
She said: ”I was adding everyone who friendrequested me.”
Unwittingly, she had opened a door for McCuaig to try to exploit her.
At 2am, he sent her a photograph on her phone, showing a profile picture superimposed on a naked body.
McCuaig gave her a deadline of less than an hour, telling her if she didn’t meet it, he would post the picture.
She said: ”I froze, I was so shocked. I was shaking and my heart was racing.
“I didn’t know what to do. That had never happened to me before. It looked quite photoshopped but I didn’t want to take the chance of my friends and family
seeing it and thinking it was real. I was scared about what they would think of me. I didn’t want to get bullied.”
McCuaig’s message demanded he show her a picture of her naked legs.
When she didn’t comply, he warned: “Your time is up.”
Fortunately, Clare has a close relationship with her mum and, distraught, she woke her up and told her what had happened.
Clare said: “Since I was young, my mum has always said to come to her with problems. If I had been more vulnerable I might have gone through with it. I thought it was better to go to an adult because I didn’t know how to get him to go away. I would say to anyone this happens to, to tell an adult. Otherwise, the outcome is much worse.”
Her mum told him they would call the police if he didn’t stop and McCuaig then deleted the account.
Clare’s mum said: ”She was shivering. It took me a long time to calm her down.”
Clare said: “I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a long time. It has made me a lot more suspicious and wary. Now I am just happy he is facing the consequences of what he did and he can’t do it to other girls.”
My mum always said come to her with problems CLARE