PREDATOR SENT SEX ACT PHOTO TO ‘BOY, 14’

Beast, 55, snared by undercover cop posing as a child online

A married man has been unmasked as a sex beast after sending an explicit sex photo to an undercover cop he thought was a teenage boy.

Alan Christie, 55, sent an image of a man performing a sex act to a ‘youngster’ he had been grooming on the internet.

However, Paisley Sheriff Court heard that Christie was actually in communication with an officer from Northumbria Police, who promptly had him traced and arrested.

When officers visited Christie’s home they recovered his computer and found the explicit content.

They also found logs of screen chats on social media where Christie had been exchanging obscene messages with the cop, who had been posing as a 14- year- old boy named Connor.

Procurator Fiscal depute Megan Glancy said: “This case involved an undercover police officer who created a profile on the Chat2 and Kik messenger apps.

“The accused began a conversation with the officer,

who identified himself as a 14-year-old schoolboy.

“The conversation moved to the Kik messenger app and it soon turned to questions about his sex life and his school life.

“The accused sent him an image of a white male wearing a distinctive gold ring.”

She said the photo depicted the man performing a sex act.

Ms Glancy added: “This was sent to the profile created by the police officer.”

The court heard the cop contacted colleagues in Renfrewshire who got a search warrant for Christie’s address.

Officers were let in by the accused’s wife and they recovered his computer, which contained the photo and communication history.

The prosecutor said when Christie was arrested at his work, cops noticed he was wearing a distinctive gold ring on his right hand, similar to the one featured in the image sent to the undercover officer.

Christie, of Houston, pleaded guilty to charges of sending sexual comments and indecent images to a person he believed was aged between 13 and 16, between March 18 and April 10 last year.

He also admitted communicating with the person, whom he believed to be a child, for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification, and intending to cause distress, humiliation and alarm.

The accused was not present at court for the proceedings, however, his defence lawyer Paul Lynch confirmed he was admitting responsibility for the charges.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry continued the case for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing.

He will discover his fate on July 16.