A young man who preyed on teenage girls in Perth with offers of money for sex was caught in a sting by some of his young victims.
John McCash scouted for potential partners online, under an assumed name, before apparently using his state benefits to offer as much as £1,000 to cash-strapped targets.
Despite initial success in convincing at least one vulnerable girl to turn to prostitution, the 21-year-old’s scheme soon fell apart.
He persuaded an 18-year-old girl — who had been struggling to pay her rent — to take part in a late night liaison in the back of his car, but then made the mistake of targeting her friend.
She had already been warned about falling into his clutches and instead the two pals hatched a plan to trap him.
When McCash drove into Perth city centre to meet her he found a group of young women waiting in the shadows to get look at his face and note his vehicle registration.
Though he made his escape, the women reported the matter to Police Scotland and officers were soon sent to carry out of a search of his home in Appin Terrace, rousing him from his bed at around 5am.
Perth Sheriff Court heard the police investigations then branched-out as they searched mobile telephones and computers for evidence of the steps taken to solicit girls.
In addition to the information sought, they also discovered indecent photographs and videos of children as young as eight.
The officers also recovered CCTV footage showing his car entering Canal Street on the evening of Monday September 21, 2015 and pulling over by the side of the road.
A figure was then seen leaning down towards the car before it moved off. A number of individuals were then seen to chase the car down the street.
Depute Fiscal John Malpass said one of the girls had attempted to snatch McCash’s car keys and though that was unsuccessful, multiple witnesses had seen his face and were able to identify his car.
McCash admitted procuring a woman aged 18 to become a prostitute between February 1 and February 28, 2015 and being in possession of indecent photographs of children between May 13 and 14, 2014.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing a mobile telephone on December 10, 2016 when prohibited from doing so without advising the police by a bail order granted at Perth Sheriff Court.
Solicitor Rosie Scott said her client was “a young man who has not had a girlfriend” and who had “thought this would be a good way to a meet a girl for sex”.
She added that the indecent images — 45 in total — had been downloaded over a six minute period and then never accessed again.
Most, the agent said, had been deleted and could not have been accessed again by McCash, though they remained on the computer.
Sentence was deferred until July 5 for the preparation of a report by the Tay Project, which will assess the risk he poses to the community.
McCash has already been placed on the sex offenders’ register.
