Dundee Youtube predator sentenced for grooming

A Dundee man who groomed underage YouTubers into sending him sick photos while he was free on bail has been jailed.

Jed Cossans originally appeared in court charged with downloading indecent images of children and was granted bail, leaving him free to to target his first two victims.

Cossans was then charged with sex offences against the youngsters but again got bail, leaving him free to target the third child.

Despite facing three child sex abuse charges when he was sentenced for the original indecent images, he was given a community sentence and again set free.

Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that the first victim was 12 when contacted by Cossans, who had seen a video the boy had posted in which he had exposed himself.

Miss Robertson said the second boy was just 11 and was contacted on video chat by Cossans, who would “give him fun challenges to do”.

Miss Robertson said the third boy, aged just nine, was first contacted over Instagram, with Cossans posing as a 16-year-old girl.

Cossans, 23, of Arbroath Road, Dundee, pled guilty on indictment to three charges of sending sexual written communications to children between June 24 and June 26 and on July 3 and 4 last year, and again between February 10 and February 12 last year.

Defence solicitor Ian Myles told the court: “He leads quite an isolated and lonely, solitary lifestyle, with no friends.”

Sheriff Linda Smith jailed Cossans for 16 months and imposed a 20 month supervised release order meaning he will be monitored for that period upon his release.

Cossans was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.