KEVIN JOHNSTON FROM FORRES AVOIDS JAIL SENTENCE AFTER SEEKING UNDERAGE GIRLS IN HIGHLAND COURT
A man from Forres, Kevin Johnston (48), has narrowly escaped a jail sentence after attempting to persuade young girls to send him indecent images of themselves.He was caught by a paedophile hunting group that had posed as under-age teenagers online.
Johnston sent videos of himself performing sexual acts, both while he was at work and at home.
At Inverness Sheriff Court today, Johnston was sentenced to 225 hours of unpaid work.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald also ordered him to register as a sex offender and placed him under the supervision of social workers for the next three years.
The sheriff stated, "I could send you to jail which this merits, but you will not get any help.
Your intention was clear, you wanted sexual relations with young girls.
Had they been children, the consequences would have been devastating and lifelong." Sheriff Macdonald criticized Johnston for denying and minimizing his attraction to pre-pubescent girls.
She added, "I have heard you have lost everything, your job and your family.
But you only have yourself to blame." Defence solicitor Grant Daglish told the court that Johnston has been assessed as a low risk of reoffending.
He also mentioned that Johnston has secured a new job in Inverness.
When asked if Johnston offered any explanation for his actions, Mr.
Daglish said, "He is at a loss as to why he did it.
He advises me that ages did not occur to him.
Perhaps it was boredom and low mental health." It was revealed at a prior hearing that the targeted under-age teenagers were actually decoys from a group called 'Hunting Online Predators Everyday' or 'HOPE.' Police raided Johnston’s former residence on Califer Road, seizing phones and a computer.
They found that Johnston had also contacted other targets, some of whom may have been real teenagers, though they could not be traced.
Johnston, who has since moved from Forres, admitted to communicating sexually with children or those believed to be children between March 25, 2020, and July 4, 2020.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir stated that the decoys made their ages clear on chat and dating sites, and they did not initiate sexual conversations.
Johnston attempted to persuade the girls to send him explicit images, using usernames such as 'hornyhighlander' and 'cantsleepmale.' In one case involving an unidentified girl, Mr.
Weir said Johnston continued sending sexual messages for three months, trying to provoke a response.
