A Fife paedophile who groomed a nine-year-old child after meeting her on TikTok has been jailed.
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 finally caught eight days after the order was imposed.
Breach a ‘huge concern’
Henderson appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link for sentencing, having previously admitted breaching the SOPO and sending sexual communications to the girl.
Sheriff Alison McKay said Henderson’s offences are of “huge concern”.
She highlighted the SOPO breach and told him: “Charge two is particularly concerning because you used social media and online gaming to befriend a nine-year-old child.”
Sheriff McKay sentenced him to a total of 30 months in prison, backdated to May 30 last year when he was remanded.
Henderson is also on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Caught by child’s mother
The court heard previously the child from North Yorkshire, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had an iPhone with no SIM card but access to the internet through her family’s wifi.
He said the girl’s mother checked 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.
She could see her daughter had sent a photograph – without showing her face – because she identified the youngster’s pyjamas.
Henderson and the girl had been discussing puberty.
The serial offender had identified himself by name and sent a photo showing his face and asked the girl for photographs of herself in the shower.
The girl told her mother she had met the predator on TikTok and he had told her he was 14.
She said they played Minecraft together and confirmed he had asked for naked pictures.
Because 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.
Henderson’s defence lawyer, David Bell, told the court his client recognised he has a problem and has sought medical help.
Mr Bell said the nature of the contact in this case was concerning but the conversation, in relative terms, was not particularly explicit and no physical contact had taken place.
Previous offending
Henderson’s previous offences include flashing primary school children taking part in “the daily mile” exercise class.
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.
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