Man offered girl £1K for sex on Facebook
‘Sting’uncovered indecent images of children
An internet predator set up a bogus Facebook profile and offered an 18-year-old girl, struggling to pay her rent, £1000 in exchange for sex in the back of his car.
Asked by the female why he did it, 21-year-old John McCash, of Appin Terrace, told her it was “easy” to have sex that way, rather than talking to women.
McCash, who doesn’t have a girlfriend, also told his lawyer he thought it was a “good way of meeting a girl and having sex.”
When the accused contacted the victim’s friend and asked her if she wanted to earn some cash, they set up a “sting” operation which led to him being arrested by police.
A search warrant was then obtained for his home - and indecent photographs and videos of children, some as young as eight, were discovered on a computer.
He had his name added to the Sex Offenders’ Register at Perth Sheriff Court this week.
He will be sentenced on July 5 after a Criminal Justice Social Work report is prepared.
Sheriff William Wood also called for an assessment from the Tay Project, to decide whether or not he “poses a risk in the community” because of the sexual offences.
The length of time his name remains on the register will be decided next month.
McCash admitted that between February 1 and 28, 2015, at his home, he procured a woman to become a prostitute.
He also pled guilty to having the stash of indecent images of children between May 13 and 14, 2015.
A third charge, also admitted, involved him flouting a June 13, 2016, bail order banning him from having or owning a mobile capable of accessing the internet.
He was found with such a device in Perth’s South Street on December 10 last year.
Depute fiscal John Malpass said the teenager, who was unknown to the accused, had been contacted by the Facebook profile of ‘Ryan Mitchell’ in February, 2015.
He asked her if she was “struggling for money and if she wanted to earn some money”.
The fiscal added: “Ryan Mitchell asked her to meet his friend that evening and he would pay her £1000 to have sex with him”.
She reluctantly agreed and the accused picked her up in his three-door black Vauxhall Corsa later that evening.
They drove to a secluded spot on the outskirts of the city where they had sex in the back seat.
Afterwards, the female told a friend what had happened and she subsequently received a friend request from the man who purported to be Ryan Mitchell.
She claimed she was “struggling for money and offered herself for sex.”
But she only did that so they could positively identify the man who claimed to be Ryan Mitchell.
They met outside what was Zoo Nightclub while her friend and another person remained out of sight.
When McCash turned up in his car, an unsuccessful attempt was made to grab his car keys but he was positively identified before he drove off.
A search warrant was obtained for McCash’s home and several computers and mobile phones were seized.
A total of 45 still and moving images were recovered, depicting male and female children, aged eight-12, involved in sexual acts.
Mrs Scott said the accused had created the Facebook profile when he was aged just 15.
Only the computer contained indecent images and none of the “accessible” images had been accessed again after being downloaded.
McCash had his bail continued meantime.
John McCash outside the Perth court