FRANCIS BURNS, SERIAL CHILD OFFENDER, RETURNS TO PRISON IN DUNDEE
A notorious serial sex offender, Francis Burns, has been returned to custody after breaching a stringent court order by deleting numerous explicit images and videos from his phone.Burns, who was released from prison in 2023, was monitored through software installed on his device, which flagged the deletion of hundreds of inappropriate files.
Burns, a father of three, previously served time in 2017 for sending nude material to what he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
The decoy, part of a paedophile hunter group, confronted him at his Dundee residence and taunted him with a cucumber—an allusion to their earlier conversation about vegetables.
The 52-year-old, who appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted to breaching his Sex Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) at his Kinloch Court home in Blairgowrie last April, was subject to restrictions prohibiting him from deleting files without police approval.
The court learned he had been communicating with adult women on Facebook but had deleted some chats when they requested money.
In July 2023, Burns confessed to sending nude images and videos to a girl he believed was 13.
He even called police himself after being caught in a sting operation carried out by paedophile hunters.
The group, part of the Secrets and Lies organization, had visited his home after securing evidence of inappropriate communications.
Depute fiscal Sarah Wilkinson outlined during the hearing that Burns had initiated chats on the SayHi app, where he greeted the decoy and was told she was only 13.
Despite this, Burns responded positively to her photos, exchanging contact details and expressing interest in camping.
The conversations turned explicit, with Burns suggesting sexual activity, sending videos, requesting nude images, and instructing her not to tell anyone.
The group’s operation in January 2023 saw Burns refusing to cooperate when confronted with evidence and stating, “I am saying f**k all,” before contacting police.
Following his arrest, Burns remarked, “I know I am going to jail.
I know I am going back to Perth.” He was charged with multiple offenses, including causing an adult to view sexual images and send sexual messages, all based on his belief that the girl was 13, between December 2022 and January 2023.
Burns is scheduled to return for sentencing on August 15 and remains in custody.
Burns’s criminal history includes a 2017 conviction for targeting four children via Kik and SayHi, where he posed as a 14-year-old boy and solicited indecent images.
During a police raid on his Dundee home, investigations uncovered evidence of additional victims.
Notably, when authorities installed monitoring software on his device, messages indicated he had been deleting content without permission.
Earlier, in September 2017, Burns was jailed for two years for manipulating and coercing young girls as young as 10 into sending indecent images.
Posing as a teenage boy, Burns threatened to post victims’ images online if they refused to send more.
His offending involved eight charges from July and August of the previous year, with some victims aged 10 to 12.
The court emphasized the gravity of Burns’s actions, noting that although he initially believed the victims were older, he later knew they were minors and continued his manipulative behavior, which involved pressuring them to send inappropriate photographs.
Sheriff Alastair Brown condemned Burns’s conduct, stressing the appalling nature of exploiting children in such a manner.
