A Fife paedophile groomed a nine-year-old girl from North Yorkshire after meeting her on TikTok.
Pervert Dale Henderson – already on the Sex Offenders Register following four previous, similar offences – was caught when the girl’s mother inspected her phone.
The 32-year-old – who once touched himself in front of youngsters while returning from a sex offender treatment programme – was made subject to a strict Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) on May 17 last year.
It banned him from having contact with anyone under the age of 16.
However, he had been communicating indecently with the child for a month before the order was made by grooming her on Minecraft and Snapchat, as well as speaking with her on video calls.
He was caught eight days after the order was imposed.
Appearing by video link at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on this week, the Perth Prison inmate admitted breaching the SOPO and sending sexual communications to the girl.
Began communicating on Tiktok
Fiscal depute Alistair McDermid explained the youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lived in North Yorkshire and had an iPhone with no SIM card but access to the internet through her family’s wifi.
He said the girl’s mother carried out a check of her phone on May 25 and saw she had been messaging an account called Scottishboiiii on Snapchat for more than a month, with messages dating back to April 16.
The girl’s mother could see she had sent a photograph – without showing her face – because she identified her daughter’s pyjamas.
Messages showed Henderson and the girl had been discussing puberty.
Henderson had asked the girl for photographs of herself in the shower and had identified himself to her by name and sent a photo showing his face.
The girl told her mother she had met the predator on TikTok and he had told her he was 14.
She said the pair had played Minecraft together and confirmed he had asked for naked pictures.
After confirming she had been on video calls with Henderson, she was able to describe him and the bedroom of his scatter flat in Church Street, Kirkcaldy.
The girl’s mother contacted local police who alerted authorities in Scotland.
Struggle to control ‘urges’
Henderson’s solicitor David Bell said his client accepted a prison term was inevitable and said he “accepted he’s responsible from an early stage and wanted to resolve it”.
He said: “In terms of mitigation, there’s not a great deal.
“He advises me that he recognises he has a problem.
“This is the fifth offence he’s had with a similar theme to it.”
He said Henderson has sought medical help.
“He tells me that when he was first released in July 2021, there were occasions when he had thoughts of offending and sexual thoughts similar to how he’s offended before.
“He said that it eased for a period of time.”
Mr Bell added: “He can’t provide any specific explanation but the court can draw its own inferences.
“He seemed to manage to control any urges for a period.
“There was never any question that the child was going to have to give evidence.”
Sheriff Alison McKay added Henderson – who has been behind bars on remand since May – to the Sex Offenders Register again and deferred sentencing to February 21.
She ordered a report to look at the possibility of post-release supervision.
Previous deviancy
Henderson’s previous offences include flashing primary school children taking part in “the daily mile” exercise class and performing a sex act on a bus.
He was jailed for 10 months in April 2017 after exposing himself to two 11-year-old girls while working as a store assistant in Windygates.
He has also been convicted after being found in possession of child abuse images.
In 2018, Henderson was jailed for six months after putting his hands down his trousers on a bus in front of two 15-year-old girls while returning home from the Moving Forward: Making Changes treatment programme for sex offenders.
Henderson was jailed again after he exposed himself in front of primary school pupils exercising in Markinch.
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