GALASHIELS MAN STRIKES AGAIN WITH MORE CHILD SEX OFFENCES
A resident of Galashiels engaged in inappropriate sexual remarks with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl he met on Facebook.In reality, he was communicating with an adult woman as part of a paedophile hunter operation, the Selkirk Sheriff Court was informed.
Robert Griffiths, aged 60, admitted to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a minor at his residence on Gala Park Court between October 19 and November 12 of the previous year.
He also confessed to possessing two indecent images of children on his mobile device.
Prosecutor Ruaridh Allison detailed how a woman, acting as a paedophile hunter, set up a fake profile of a 13-year-old girl named Madison Robertson and accepted a friend request from Griffiths.
He then asked to move the conversation to WhatsApp and shared his number to communicate privately, avoiding detection by the girl’s parents.
Mr.
Allison explained that the conversation became sexual in nature when Griffiths was told she was attending a Halloween party dressed as a zombie schoolgirl.
He described the exchanged images as “very sexy” and stated Griffiths inquired about sex and expressed a desire to "play with her body." Overall, there were 25 messages containing sexual content.
Subsequently, the woman and her online safety team contacted police, who then conducted a sting operation at Griffiths' home, which was broadcast live on Facebook.
Authorities also seized electronic devices, including a mobile phone containing two images and two videos depicting children aged between four and 13 involved in sexual acts, as well as children being assaulted by adults.
Defense solicitor Ed Hulme stated that Griffiths recognized he had made a significant mistake.
The judge, Sheriff Peter Paterson, postponed sentencing until July 17 to allow for a social work report and an assessment of restrictions of liberty.
Additionally, Griffiths was placed under the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act, with the duration to be decided at sentencing.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————— A 57-year-old man named Robert Griffiths, from Gala Park Court, Galashiels, was involved in misconduct where he sent messages of a sexual nature to three individuals he believed to be 14-year-old girls.
The decoys shared details of explicit conversations with police, revealing Griffiths asking one girl for a picture of her naked chest, requesting underwear details from another, and encouraging a third to search for X-rated films online.
He also asked to sleep in the bed of a third girl.
The incident was uncovered in August 2021 when decoys shared information with police.
During court proceedings at Selkirk Sheriff Court, Griffiths admitted to these actions and was sentenced to a two-year Community Payback Order, including supervision and conduct requirements, and was banned from accessing the internet without approval from a social worker.
Additionally, his name was added to the Sex Offenders Register for two years.
