A convicted Fife paedophile was accused of breaching a strict court order with a trip to a family caravan break in Perthshire.
Kenneth Bond was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life in 2019 after he was caught in a hotel room with a bag of sex toys, ropes and alcohol, waiting for a 12-year-old girl.
Derby Crown Court heard how he thought the child was being brought to him for sex by her father.
But the “dad” was in fact an undercover police officer.
Bond, who has since moved to Fife, was jailed for three years.
He returned to the dock at Perth Sheriff Court this week and denied accusations he had breached his sex offences prevention order.
Thirty-eight days in custody
It was alleged the 62-year-old stayed at the Scone Camping and Caravanning site between December 17 and 21 last year.
The terms of his life-long order prohibits him from residing anywhere where children are also staying, even a single night.
When the case called before Sheriff Alison McKay, Bond’s lawyer Mark Harrower confirmed his client had stayed at the holiday site in a camper van but insisted there were no children there when he arrived.
Staff from the resort were due to give evidence at his trial but fiscal depute Stephanie Hendry confirmed they had not attended and did not appear to know about the hearing because they had not been formally cited to appear.
Mr Harrower opposed a Crown motion to adjourn the trial to another day.
His client spent 38 days in custody following his arrest.
The maximum period of detention for summary cases is 40 days.
When further efforts to bring witnesses to court were unsuccessful, Bond’s case was deserted pro loco et tempore – meaning it has effectively been shelved but could be raised again by prosecutors at a later date.
‘Dirty Tony’
The Crown Court previously heard how Bond, now of Ednam Drive, Glenrothes, hooked up with a person who called himself “Dirty Tony”, who he believed was the father of a pre-teen girl, in internet chats..
Judge Nirmal Shant KC told Bond: “I have no doubt in my mind your intention was to tie up the child and have forcible sexual intercourse with her.
“You did everything you could, believing this was a real child, to commit very serious sexual offences on her.”
The NSPCC said it was a “shocking example of how predators stalk the internet searching for opportunities to abuse vulnerable children.”
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
