Galashiels pensioner caught with indecent images of children after attempting to meet girl, 12
Last updated 5th Aug 2024
A pensioner from Galashiels who attempted to meet a 12-year-old girl, and asked her to send him "naughty" pictures, has been slapped with a six month home curfew and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
Selkirk Sheriff Court heard Brian Edwards arranged to meet the person he knew as "Olivia", at the town's Transport Interchange in April last year and told her, if anyone asked, to tell them she was his granddaughter.
The then 67-year-old, who also asked about sharing a bed and whether she would be wearing sexy underwear, called her a "naughty sweetheart" and told her "age was only a number".
Edwards, now 68, continued with his depraved chat over a number of days.
But the pensioner had in fact been communicating with an undercover police officer, who had set up a fake profile online, which attracted his attention.
And when officers raided his home in Tulley Court, Galashiels, they found more than a hundred indecent images of children on a mobile phone.
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Edwards solicitor, Ed Hulme said his client had an acquired brain injury due to past alcohol abuse.
He admitted charges of attempting to communicate with someone he believed was a child under the age of 13, and attempting to meet them; as well as possession of indecent images of children.
Returning for sentence today (Monday), Sheriff Peter Paterson made Edwards subject of an 18-month supervision order.
The six-month curfew means he must stay within his home between the hours of 7pm and 7am.
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