A serial paedophile with the username “Luv A Te3n” engaged in a sickening web chat with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Mark Pentith was in fact exchanging messages with an undercover cop, Stirling Sheriff Court heard.
The 56-year-old pled guilty to attempting to communicate indecently with a child between February 2 and 19 last year.
Sentence was deferred but he was remanded in custody after the court heard he had been previously handed a two-year suspended sentence by an English court in 2011 for downloading indecent images of children, with a further analogous conviction from 2018.
He was told a custodial sentence was a “strong likelihood”.
Chat service
Fiscal depute Jamie Hilland said Pentith contacted the decoy account called Maisie on social media chatline ChatIW.
He was using a profile with the username Luv A Te3n.
“Witness Maisie advised the accused she was 13 and the accused advised he was on ChatIW to ‘chat to teen girls,” said Mr Hilland.
“Witness Maisie then asked the accused if he chatted on any other platforms and suggested moving the conversation to Snapchat.
“The accused agreed providing witness Maisie with the Snapchat profile Mark P.
“The accused and witness Maisie move to Snapchat where the conversation continued.”
Conversation continued on Snapchat
In one message from Pentith to the undercover officer he said: “I don’t want to get in trouble lol? You’re underage?”
In another message, he asked what kinds of sexual experience she had and whether she had touched a male.
He also ordered her: “Put your hand in your panties right now. Show me your hands in your panties Maisie”.
Pentith went on to tell her that he was sitting on a sofa in his boxers and asked if she wanted to sit on his knee while wearing a revealing outfit, before asking her to send him a picture in her “sexiest panties”.
He was arrested just over a month later.
Pentith, of Irvine Place, Stirling, was placed on the sex offenders register ahead of sentencing next month.
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