New Zealand police probe leads cops to Renfrew paedophile

A Renfrew man who filmed himself abusing a three-year-old girl was caught thanks to a police operation in New Zealand.

Hugh Sim, 30, was snared after he sent indecent images to a chat group. He denied the person seen on videos and photographs with the girl was him, but a former lover identified him by his heavyset build and ginger body hair.

During a police inquiry in New Zealand into the members of this chat group it was established that one of the users had logged on from the UK and an internet search uncovered the subscriber as Sim.

At the High Court in Glasgow Sim was convicted of making and distributing indecent photographs of children and sexually abusing a girl over a two year period from 2013 to 2015 at a house in Renfrew.

He was also found guilty of intentionally engaging in sexual activity in the presence of the young girl when she was aged between three and five.

Sim was originally charged with raping the girl, but that charge was withdrawn by the Crown.

Advocate depute Lisa Gillespie said: “There is no doubt that the images of the girl have been distributed, because they were found by police in New Zealand. So at the very least they must have been distributed there.”

The court heard that Sim made the girl pose with a sign saying “Luke Bakes” the internet name used by the New Zealand man Drew Webb who had pictures of Sim sexually abusing her.

“Miss Gillespie said: “There is a chilling very modern detail of this case: a little girl in Renfrew innocently advertising herself to a paedophile in New Zealand.”

The jury also saw numerous images of the girl naked sitting on a toy car and in a kitchen only wearing pink pants.

Miss Gillespie said: “These are not innocent snaps of a little girl who happens to be partially undressed or naked.

“There is no artistic merit in photographing little girl's buttocks or genitals while her face isn't visible, her face has been deliberately cropped off. These are not snapshots for family album.”

Sim denied all the charges against him and claimed he was not the person who took the photographs of the girl or abused her.

The jury convicted him of five charges. He was remanded in custody by judge Johanna Johnston and will be sentenced next month.