May 2019 Online pervert posed as schoolboy, 14 A paedophile who posed as a teenage boy and persuaded under-age girls to strip on camera was jailed for 20 months at Perth Sheriff Court. Forty-two-year-old Richard Cabena is confined to a wheelchair after suffering from spina bifida. But Sheriff William Wood told him a custodial sentence was merited because of the serious nature of the charges. The call handler also had his name added to the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and his computer was forfeited. The court heard that Cabena, of Balrigar, Kinloch, near Blairgowrie, claimed he was just 14 and groomed a 12-year-old schoolgirl during online chats. He persuaded the girl to send him revealing pictures of herself. He also struck up a friendship with a 15-year-old girl on Facebook, telling her he was 18. He asked her to pull down the zipper on her pyjama top and dared her to touch her breasts over her bra during a Skype call. He had persuaded both victims to turn on the cameras on their laptops but he claimed his own camera was broken. Sheriff Wood had deferred sentence to ask the prison authorities whether Cabena could be adequately supervised in jail. This week he told the accused: “These charges are serious. “They involve deception and involve attempting to get girls, by pretending you were significantly younger, to expose themselves in a distressing, humiliating and alarming way.” March 2019 Wheelchair-bound Kinloch man set up fake Facebook page to persuade young girls to strip on camera A 42-year-old man in a wheelchair who posed as a teenage boy to groom underage girls online has been told he is going to jail – if a suitable prison can be found for him. Predatory paedophile Richard Cabena set up a fake Facebook page and used it to get in touch with young girls who he then persuaded to strip on camera for him. Cabena, who has spina bifida and is wheelchair-bound, was told his offence merited prison but his circumstances meant checks would have to be done. Sheriff William Wood granted Cabena bail and said: “I am not able to say at this stage whether the prison estate will be able to accommodate you and your needs. “I am going to defer sentence for confirmation from the estate that they will be able to accommodate your needs which will bring significant challenges.” He told Perth Sheriff Court: “It does seem to me that in relation to both these charges there was a predatory aspect that underlies your conduct. “You held yourself out to be significantly younger than you are to a child. “You held yourself out to be a 14-year-old boy. You seemed to be grooming for further disclosures.” The court was told that the girls were strangers to Cabena and had been taken in by his fake identity as a boy called John Grant. Cabena, of Kinloch, admitted obtaining sexual gratification by getting a 15-year-old girl to strip and participate in sexual activity on camera via Skype on August 16 2015. He admitted a second charge of causing a 12-year-old girl to send naked pictures over Skype. February 2019 Perth pervert wanted naked snap from girl (12) A perverted 42-year-old call handler claimed he was just 14 and persuaded a 12-year-old schoolgirl to send him an intimate photograph of her naked after grooming her on-line. Richard Cabena also told the youngster she was “cute” and asked for photographs of her so he could see what she was wearing. In further sleazy conversations, he encouraged her to remove the top she was wearing after she had taken off her dressing gown. In separate incidents, the warped accused struck up a friendship with a 15-year-old girl, claiming he was 18, after communicating with her on Facebook. In sordid communications, he asked her to pull down the zipper on her pyjama top and dared her to touch her breasts over her bra during a Skype call. But she replied: “I can’t. I need to do my homework.” After telling her she was “hot as hell,” he repeatedly encouraged her to remove her top completely – and to touch her breasts – but she again refused as there was a grown-up at home and she didn’t want to “get caught.” The depraved actions of Cabena, of Balrigar, Kinloch, near Blairgowrie, were recounted when he appeared on indictment at Perth Sheriff Court this week. His name was added to the sex offenders’ register and he will be sentenced on March 27 after background reports have been obtained. Sheriff William Wood said he was “considering” a custodial sentence. The accused admitted that on August 16, 2015, at Balcairn Farm Cottage, Kinloch, he intentionally sent a sexual written communication to the 15-year-old and encouraged her to remove her clothing on camera, while he watched her. The charge also indicated that he communicated with her via Skype in a sexual manner with the intention of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming her. A second charge of encouraging the 12-year-old to send him intimate images at Balcairn Farm Cottage on February 21, 2017 – and also communicating with her on Skype in a sexual manner – was also admitted. Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson said the teenager was sent a “friend request” on Facebook in 2015 from a profile under the name ‘Jon Grant.’ She accepted, telling him she was 15. He said he was 18. They continued to have “innocuous conversations” over the next few days. Sometimes he would call her on Skype and on August 16, 2015, he asked her to turn on the camera so he could see her. She was initially reluctant, saying she “looked horrible,” but did agree and turned it on, but when she asked Cabena to do the same he told her his camera was broken. Cabena then asked her if she was looking for a boyfriend, told her she was “cute” and that he would like to “snuggle up” with her. She eventually pulled the zipper down on her top and later agreed to unzip her top further and slide her bra straps down her shoulder. As the accused’s conversation became more sordid, a grown up walked past the girl’s bedroom and was suspicious that the girl had been exposing herself on the webcam. The adult didn’t say anything at the time but later confiscated the laptop and called the police. They were able to trace the ‘Jon Grant’ user name to the accused’s address and, after obtaining a search warrant, seized Cabena’s computer. When it was examined, the second complainer was ultimately traced in December, 2017. He had also met her on-line, claiming he was 14 while she said she was 13 but was actually just 12. They would sometimes speak via webcam but again he claimed his camera was broken so she couldn’t see him. He told her she was “cute,” asked to see photographs of her and inquired if she was “a naughty girl.” When Cabena was arrested in March, 2018, and interviewed, he admitted using the ‘Jon Grant’ Facebook page but stated that he couldn’t remember either sexually explicit conversations with the complainers. A prosecution motion to forfeit the accused’s computer was continued until next month. Lawyer Mike Tavendale will give his plea in mitigation then.