Pervert caught in social media sting

A Perth pervert was caught in a sting operation asking a teenage girl to speak with him on the phone while he carried out a sex act on himself.

Fifty-seven-year-old bricklayer Donald Griffin, of Kinloch Terrace, thought he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl called ‘Doni Gray’.

But he was actually speaking to a woman operating a decoy Facebook account using a mobile number provided to her by Child Protectors Scotland.

She was initially contacted by a man called Lee Griffin, who turned out to be the accused.

He claimed to be 17, depute fiscal Gail Russell told Perth Sheriff Court yesterday.

Within five to 10 minutes of making contact, he said he wished to meet her.

“The next day the accused messaged her asking to see her naked breasts and stated he had masturbated whilst thinking about her,” explained the depute fiscal.

Further messages were received by her telling her he loved her, he was thinking about her and stating “she made him horny”.

Members of the Child Protection Group later went to Griffin’s home in Letham to try and confront him.

The accused’s partner phoned police to say that eight group members had attended at her home asking for Lee Griffin.

She said they had the wrong name - he was Donald

Griffin.

Officers later obtained a search warrant and seized an iPhone which contained messages sent to the teenage girl and an image used by him to create his Facebook profile in the name of Lee Griffin.

The accused had his name added to the Sex Offenders Register and will be sentenced on March 17 after reports have been prepared

He admitted that between January 3 and 16, 2019, he sent the teen sexual written and verbal comments and asked for permission to carry out a sex act on her.

A solicitor for the accused said he was a first offender and his partner continued to support him.

“Clearly this was unacceptable behaviour and he deeply regrets getting involved,” they added.