Man, 40, admits attempting to communicate indecently with a 12-year-old girl
Last updated 3rd Jul 2023
A 40-year-old man has admitted attempting to communicate indecently with a 12-year-old girl in the Scottish Borders.
Ashley Bell approached his intended victim on the Instagram messenging service, before switching the conversation to SnapChat - where messages delete themselves once they've been read.
Despite being told she was getting ready for school and looking forward to her 13th birthday, Jedburgh Sheriff Court today (Monday) heard the convicted sex offender instigated conversations about sex toys, breasts and "spent quite a bit of time" boasting about the size of his manhood.
It later emerged the person Bell had been communicating with was in fact an undercover police officer and their chat had been recorded.
The former Galashiels Academy pupil, who appeared in the dock from custody, admitted intentionally, and for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification, or of humiliating, distressing or alarming a person he believed was a child under the age of 13, sending messages of a sexual nature to her over social media.
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Bell, described as a prisoner in Edinburgh, committed the offence at an address in Lovel Court, Hawick, and elsewhere, between March 6th and 15th this year.
But his solicitor, Ed Hulme, revealed "he's looking to see if there's medication he can take to quell the feelings that he has".
Sentence was deferred on Bell - who has previous analogous convictions - until July the 31st for background reports, including guidance on post-release supervision, and he was remanded in custody meantime.
But Sheriff Douglas Keir warned him he is likely to receive a custodial sentence, in addition to being the subject of the notifications of the Sex Offenders Register.
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