Engineer avoids jail after asking for teen nudes
AN engineer who boasted about having a Mercedes and thought he was asking two young girls for naked photos has avoided jail. Barry McBride was instead chatting on Facebook to “decoys” posing as the teenagers in a bid to catch paedophiles.
The 42-year-old pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to asking for indecent pictures of an older child.
McBride was put under supervision and the sex offenders register for three years at sentencing.
The decoys from a vigilante group created Facebook profile accounts for two girls.
Prosecutor Christopher McKnight stated: “The girl received a Facebook message from McBride on July 27 last year, she accepted this, and McBride began a conversation with her.
“She informed him of her age, and he said ‘kinda jailbait lol’.
“They continued to converse, and she asked for a picture of him.
“He sent a picture of himself topless with visible tattoos and then asked her if he could send a naked picture of herself.
“She refused and asked him to send a photo, which he did.”
The conversation stopped when McBride deleted her from Facebook.
Knight continued: “He then friend requested another 14-yearold.
“They began a conversation and she informed him of her age and he called her ‘jailbait’.
“He sent her the same image (he had sent the other girl) and requested a picture.
“She told him she was embarrassed.
“He told her about his children and that he drove a Mercedes and offered to go and get her from England if she wanted to see him.”
The decoy team informed the police and McBride, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, was identified through screenshots the decoys had got.
Keith Tuck, defending, said: “He’s had difficulty with drinking to excess and his mental health is not the best.”
Sheriff Johanna Johnston QC told him: “You have accepted responsibility for this.
“Parliament has put laws in place to protect these children.”