ABERDEEN MAN SHAUN STRUTHERS SENT SEXUAL MESSAGES TO 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN SHOCKING CASE
In a disturbing case that has sent shockwaves through the Aberdeen community, Shaun Struthers, a 30-year-old man from Bannerman Place, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to face serious allegations of sending explicit messages and images to a 14-year-old girl.The incident, which took place between April and September of the previous year, has left the family devastated and has raised urgent concerns about online safety and the vulnerability of young teenagers.
According to court records, Struthers admitted to sending highly sexualized written communications to the young girl.
In addition to the messages, he also transmitted two explicit images, which were not of himself but rather taken from a film, making the content even more inappropriate and disturbing.
The sheriff overseeing the case, Graham Buchanan, emphasized the severity of the misconduct, stating, “He stepped quite significantly over the line in relation to the content of the messages and of course the pictures that were sent.
They weren’t pictures of him, they were pictures of things taken from a film.
Quite inappropriate to be sending stuff like that to this particular individual.” During the court proceedings, Struthers was handed a sentence of supervision coupled with 120 hours of unpaid work.
Additionally, he was placed under the notification requirements mandated by the Sexual Offences Act, which involves monitoring and registration obligations to prevent further offenses.
The mother of the young girl, visibly distressed, spoke out about the profound impact this ordeal has had on her family.
She issued a stark warning to other parents, urging vigilance over their children’s online activities.
“I would just tell them to be very, very vigilant of what’s going on on their kids’ phones and obviously just look out for any change in their children’s behaviour,” she said.
“If people are made aware then hopefully nobody else will have to suffer like this.” Expressing her own feelings of shock and betrayal, she added, “I’m quite gutted.
To be honest, I think he should have got the jail.
It came as a bit of a shock.
It’s horrific what he did.
We’re absolutely traumatised.
Not one of us noticed what was going on.
The messages are just awful, absolutely awful.
As a mother, I’m absolutely traumatised.” The case underscores the importance of safeguarding children from online predators and highlights the need for increased awareness and protective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
