A paedophile who had sex multiple times with a schoolgirl was told his youth saved him from being locked up.
Creepy Kyle McLean admitted being engaged in sexual activity with his 15-year-old victim at his home in Alyth, while she was drunk and hungover.
He was traced by police at Perth’s hub for community service work, where he was being punished for an earlier sex offence involving a child.
Returning to the dock for sentencing, the 20-year-old was told he would be locked up if he had been older.
McLean’s sentencing sparked an outburst from the public gallery.
Court interupted
Sheriff Gillian Wade told him: “This is a serious offence and you are now at the custody threshold.
“If you were older at the time of these offences, the court would likely have imposed a custodial sentence.”
She said: “In the circumstances, I am obliged to look at alternatives to custody and I am satisfied I can deal with this by way of a high level, high tariff, community payback order.”
McLean was placed on supervision for three years and must engage with the Moving Forward: Making Changes sex offenders rehabilitation programme.
He must carry out 188 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff placed McLean on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.
At the end of the hearing, a man in the public benches – accompanied by a young woman – shouted: “He’ll do it again.”
Victim told mother
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie earlier told the court McLean and the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, first met at the end of July 2021.
They began to message each other and the girl described the communication as being “flirty” and “light-hearted”.
McLean was aware she was only 15 and told her not to tell anyone about their encounters.
On August 16, she told her mother she was going to stay at a friend’s house but instead, arrived at McLean’s home in Mill Street, Alyth.
She drank half a bottle of vodka and some alcopops and began to feel intoxicated and tired.
They went to bed and had sex and although the girl said she was too tired to continue, McLean said she was his “good girl”.
He then suggested they move to the kitchen to waken up and they continued to have unprotected sex there.
The next morning, the girl woke up early.
McLean told her he wanted to have sex again.
Feeling hungover, the girl consumed more alcohol before they had sex again.
She returned on later dates and there was more sexual activity.
Phone records
A friend of the girl had become concerned and told a member of staff at her school.
Her mother was then informed and police were called.
A detective examined the girl’s phone and found almost 800 messages between the two and 36 phone calls.
The girl had sent him photographs and McLean had messaged her vile replies.
Other messages showed the girl had told McLean she was in pain after sex.
In June 2021, he had been sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work for sexual offending towards a child.
On September 15, police arrived at Westbank – Perth’s hub for community service work – looking for him.
Officers found him there and he confirmed he knew the girl.
McLean, 20, of Glengarry Road, Perth, admitted engaging in sexual activity with an older child on various occasions over a two-week period and sending her sexual messages.
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