EDINBURGH PAEDOPHILE MICKAEL MEONI CAUGHT AT HAYMARKET STATION IN SHOCKING ONLINE STING
In a disturbing incident that unfolded at Edinburgh’s Haymarket Station, a man identified as Mickael Meoni from Fountainbridge was caught in a sting operation orchestrated by a vigilant online group known as Wolf Pack Hunters UK.The incident took place in January 2019, when Meoni had arranged to meet what he believed was a young girl for sexual activity, only to be confronted by members of the vigilante group who had live streamed the encounter on Facebook.
Meoni’s actions came to light after he had engaged in a series of explicit communications via social media platforms.
He had contacted two accounts that he believed were operated by minors, sending them graphic sexual messages and making plans to meet them in person.
The first account was supposedly belonging to a 13-year-old boy named Thomas from Glasgow, which was actually a fake profile created by Wolf Pack Hunters in December 2017.
On December 12, Meoni initiated contact with this profile under the alias ‘Miki,’ and soon began exchanging sexual messages with the adult posing as a child.
According to court records, Meoni made arrangements to meet ‘Thomas’ on two separate occasions but canceled both at the last minute.
The following month, he contacted a second fictitious account, believing it belonged to a 14-year-old girl.
During these chats, Meoni admitted to being 39 years old, while the person behind the account claimed she was just 14.
Despite the apparent age discrepancy, he continued to communicate with her and made plans to meet at Haymarket Station on January 14, 2019.
When Meoni arrived at the station, he was met with a surprise.
Members of Wolf Pack Hunters, who had been monitoring the situation, confronted him live on social media.
The police were called to the scene, and officers from the British Transport Police quickly intervened.
They seized Meoni’s mobile phone and obtained logs of all the messages exchanged during the online chats.
During a subsequent police interview, Meoni admitted to having been speaking with both the male and female accounts online, describing his actions as “stupid” and expressing remorse for his behavior.
He confessed that he had attempted to meet with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy and another adult posing as a 14-year-old girl, with the intent of engaging in sexual activity at his home address and elsewhere.
These attempts spanned from December 10, 2017, to January 13, 2018.
His guilty pleas to two charges of arranging to meet minors for sexual purposes were accepted by the court.
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year, Meoni was sentenced to be placed on the sex offenders register for the next two years.
Additionally, Sheriff Donald Corke imposed a two-year supervision order as an alternative to immediate custody.
The court also accepted pleas of not guilty to charges related to sending explicit images of his genitals to the online accounts, which were part of a plea deal.
The case highlights the dangers of online grooming and the importance of vigilant community efforts to combat such predatory behavior.
The incident at Haymarket Station serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by individuals seeking to exploit minors through digital platforms, and the crucial role that proactive groups like Wolf Pack Hunters play in safeguarding vulnerable children and young people in Edinburgh and beyond.
