SCOTRAIL WORKER CONFRONTED BY VIGILANTES OVER ONLINE SEX CONVERSATIONS
A 64-year-old ScotRail worker named James Gilchrist has been involved in a serious criminal case where he was caught engaging in online communications with an adult decoy, unaware that the individual was pretending to be a child.The investigation revealed that Gilchrist initiated a conversation asking "how are you doing?", which later turned explicit as he discussed sexual topics.
Members of a vigilante team identified his home address in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, and tracked him down at his workplace at Blantyre train station in May of the previous year.
They arrived at the station, found him selling tickets behind the counter, and live streamed a confrontation with him online.
During his arrest, Gilchrist admitted to officers: "It started with me having normal conversations asking 'how are you doing?' then things became more adult.
I should have stopped but I didn't." Gilchrist appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to communicating indecently online.
The depute fiscal, John Coogan, stated that witnesses visited his home but found he was at work.
It was established through messaging that Gilchrist claimed to work for ScotRail and sold tickets at Hamilton railway station, which was closed at the time, leading officers to attend a different station in Blantyre where he was identified and confronted.
The court deferred sentencing until the next month, with Sheriff Colin Dunipace cautioning that this was a serious matter and promising to consider all options.
Gilchrist has been placed on the sex offenders' register.
ScotRail confirmed that Gilchrist was no longer employed by them but declined to comment further.
