Vigilantes helped snare pervert who thought he was chatting to young teen

Vigilantes tricked an East Kilbride man into believing that he was having online chats about sex with a 13-year-old boy.

Michael Docherty talked about taking the boy to a hotel and performing sexual acts with him.

However, he was unaware that he had been set up by Phoenix Guardians of the Innocents.

The group tipped off another organisation, Maximum Exposure, and vigilantes confronted Docherty at his home in Burnbrae Crescent before alerting the police.

Docherty, 29, was placed on the sex offenders’register when he appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday.

He admitted indecent communication with a person he thought was a child between May 17 and June 30 last year.

Docherty also admitted sending the person an indecent photograph.

Jennifer Cunningham, prosecuting, said that a vigilante group set up a fake online profile in the name of a boy called

Ben, purporting to be from Blackpool.

‘Ben’was contacted by Docherty on the‘Meet Me’dating website and they began to have regular online chats.

Despite being told repeatedly that‘Ben’was only 13 and ‘way younger’than him,

Docherty insisted that it wasn’t a problem and told the‘boy’to trust him.

Soon, there was a sexual element to their chats and Docherty talked about travelling to meet‘Ben’in a hotel.

He stated:‘Maybe you should be here with me, keeping me warm and hugging me.

“I love hugging guys –anything can happen’.

Docherty’s chat became increasingly graphic.

He spoke about‘entertaining’ the‘boy’and having sex with him.

He also sent him an image of a penis, saying it was his.

Vigilantes confronted Docherty on June 30 and livestreamed it on Facebook.

Later, police armed with a search warrant, went to the address and were met by Docherty’s male partner.

Internet devices were seized and Docherty’s WhatsApp chats with‘Ben’were recovered. Docherty has no previous convictions and solicitor

Tom Watters said that his client has undertaken“intensive voluntary therapy”since the offences came to light.

Sheriff Ray Small deferred sentence for a criminal justice social work report and a risk assessment.

Docherty will return to court for sentence on June 4.