JOHN JOHNSTONE AND HIS SHOCKING CHILD OFFENDER ACTS IN ARBROATH
A highly dangerous individual with a disturbing history of sexual offending has been placed under strict legal restrictions to prevent further harm, including a ban on using dating apps for the next 15 years.The conviction and subsequent sentencing of John Johnstone highlight the serious threat he poses, not only in his community of Arbroath but also across broader contexts.
John Johnstone was formally convicted of serious sexual offences at Dundee Sheriff Court, where he received a custodial sentence of 30 months in prison.
Additionally, he was made a lifetime registrant on the Sex Offenders Register, a measure designed to monitor and regulate his activities due to the high risk he presents.
To further safeguard the public, especially minors, the court also imposed an extensive Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) lasting 15 years.
The order explicitly bans him from engaging with social media platforms and online dating services, which are often exploited by offenders for predatory activities.
The details of Johnstone’s offending are particularly alarming.
It was revealed that he had built a clandestine den behind the fireplace of his home, transforming it into a hidden room where he stored and possibly engaged in activities involving child pornography.
The court heard that he exhibited a 'very high risk' profile, indicating the severity of his threat to the community.
His crimes included abusing a 14-year-old boy through the deliberate sharing of sexual images and coercing the victim into performing sexual acts by forcing him to send explicit pictures of his genitals between May and July 2020.
Sheriff Paul Brown expressed his condemnation of the offences, stating: 'This is an instance of serious sexual offending, against a background of a record of similar offending.
There is a degree of overlap with the previous offence.
However, it is clear to me that this is a distinct matter that carries a greater degree of culpability and harm.' The sheriff emphasized that the protected public interest necessitated a custodial sentence combined with strict legal measures.
The court also addressed the ongoing danger posed by Johnstone’s activities through the implementation of the SOPO, which restricts his online engagement and lawfully prohibits him from any unsupervised contact with children under 18.
Sheriff Brown added that Johnstone would be barred from using social media and dating sites until after his 60th birthday.
Furthermore, he was forbidden from taking up hobbies that could potentially bring him into contact with minors, ensuring multiple protective layers against further offending.
During proceedings, defense counsel Iain Smith noted that Johnstone was assessed to be at a 'very high risk' of reoffending, with social workers concluding that his behavioral pattern was deeply entrenched and in need of intervention.
The history of his criminal record underscores the seriousness of his case, which includes a previous 40-month imprisonment in 2021 where he was found to have filmed himself abusing a young girl.
In that case, Sheriff Alistair Carmichael described him as 'a committed user and maker of indecent images of children.' It was also disclosed that Johnstone had constructed a secret den behind his home's fireplace for the storage and possible distribution of child pornography.
He used the dark web to exchange this material with others worldwide, taking pride in his activities by claiming he had caused 'no actual harm' to the victim because she was asleep during the abuse.
Additional revelations painted a disturbing picture of his behavior.
Johnstone had searched social media platforms such as Facebook extensively, collecting over 400 images of a young girl he knew and fixated on.
He also possessed and perpetuated a wide array of extreme animal pornography, along with thousands of images depicting child abuse.
Notably, he manipulated an explicit image by superimposing a child's head onto an adult woman's body.
The police involvement was spearheaded by Detective Chief Inspector Richie Banks of Police Scotland's National Child Abuse Investigation Unit.
Banks described Johnstone as a 'dangerous and predatory individual,' whose clandestine activities over many years demonstrated the widespread threat he posed, not only locally but internationally.
Banks emphasized that offenders operating online often believe they are anonymous, yet their actions have devastating, lifelong impacts on innocent children.
The message from authorities remains clear: there is no justification for their actions, and online child abuse images are a real and urgent criminal matter, representing the exploitation of vulnerable children in terrifying reality.
