January 2021 Rutherglen child sex pervert ignores court’s internet ban as creep admits going online A child sex predator has admitted breaking a strict court order barring him from using the internet. Ian Bell, 49, was snared clutching a cuddly toy as he went to met a ‘decoy’ posing as a girl aged 15. However, Bell was unmasked after sending indecent pictures and having sexualised chats with a member of vigilante group Wolfpack Hunters UK on social media. Paisley Sheriff Court heard Bell, formerly of Fenwick Drive, Barrhead, but now living in Rutherglen, was convicted of sending indecent images with the intention of causing a child to look at them, for his own sexual gratification. He also admitted attempting to meet a person he believed to be a child with the intention of having underage sex. Sheriff Colin Pettigrew put him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years, placed him on an electronic tag for ten months, and ordered that he be supervised by the local authority for three years, including tough restrictions on his use of the internet, when he was sentenced in January last year. This week, Bell appeared in the dock again at Paisley where he pleaded guilty to breaching his supervision order. January 2020 Sex predator snared by group now living in East Kilbride A child sex predator snared by paedophile hunters is now living in East Kilbride. Depraved Ian Bell, 48, was clutching a cuddly toy as he attempted to meet a ‘decoy’ he believed was a 15-year-old girl in Paisley Bell was snared after sending indecent pictures and having sex chats with a member of vigilante group Wolfpack Hunters UK on social media. He was put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years, has an electronic tag for ten months and was ordered he be closely supervised by the local authority for three years. Bell, who has since moved to Three Rivers Walk in Westwood, is also banned from schools, nurseries, public parks and play parks, as well banned from using any device capable of accessing the Internet for the duration of the order. Paisley Sheriff Court heard Bell had been messaging an adult, William Brown, who he thought was a girl called Sarah, and even arranged to meet her for sex. However, he was caught in an elaborate sting operation when the decoy, accompanied by members of the group, confronted him outside a supermarket. Bell, formerly of Barrhead, even had a cuddly toy in a plastic shopping bag, when he was approached by the group, which recorded the encounter on video. On Friday, the creep appeared in the dock before Sheriff Colin Pettigrew where he pleaded guilty to sending indecent images with intention of causing a child to look at them, for his own sexual gratification between July 10 and 28, 2018. He also admitted attempting to meet a person he believed to be a child with the intention of having underage sex on the same day. The court had ordered background reports, including risk assessments, before deciding his punishment. Sheriff Pettigrew branded Bell’s behaviour “wholly unacceptable” and added the courts have “a duty to protect children” from the likes of him. He said: “The court has a duty to reflect society’s concerns – and express its disapproval – at your repeated offending which took planning and anticipation on your part.”