A Fraserburgh paedophile who sent vile sexual messages to young girls and bragged about sexually abusing children in real life has been jailed.
Shaun Summers’ sickening sexual obsession with children came to light when he was stung by an online vigilante group that had set up a decoy child profile.
But when the police examined the 27-year-old’s devices they found a catalogue of horrific chat logs with underage girls in which he stated he was “deadly serious” about sexually abusing children.
He also gave children graphic instructions on how to perform sex acts and encouraged them to send him explicit images.
Describing Summers’ actions as “predatory and disturbing”, Sheriff Andrew Miller jailed him for more than two years and placed him on the sex offenders register.
Fiscal depute Carol Gammie told Aberdeen Sheriff Court a volunteer member of the vigilante group Maximum Exposure set up a dating app profile posing as a 12-year-old girl.
On October 27 2021, Summers started chatting with the ‘child’, who in her first message claimed she was 12 years old.
After a period of innocent conversation, Summers began asking about the girl’s swimwear, showers and baths.
The decoy repeatedly referred to being at school and gave “bland and non-committal” replies.
But Summers continued to message, describing her profile picture as “hot” and saying she had nice breasts and that he wanted to see more.
His messages became “overtly sexual” and he asked for a picture of the decoy’s underwear.
Ms Gammie told the court: “After checking if her mum was able to access her phone, he then told her that he was holding his ‘thing’ in his hand and he asked her to touch herself.”
Summers then offered to send a picture of his “thing” and asked her to send him pictures of her in the bath.
He continued talking to the decoy child until April 5 2022 when the vigilante group, who had managed to track him down, confronted him and live-streamed the confrontation online.
Police were then called and the group passed their evidence to officers.
‘Significant volume’ of conversations found
Summers was arrested and, during a police interview, admitted sending sexual communication to what he thought was a 12-year-old girl but “would not state why he had done it”.
His iPhone was seized and, during the cybercrime examination, evidence was found of communications with other people who Summers believed, and who may well have been, girls aged between 13 and 15.
Chat logs with a girl who claimed to be 15 made up approximately 250 pages when printed out and revealed a “significant volume of graphic, disturbing and highly sexualised conversations”.
Summers frequently discussed having sex with the child and graphically described his and her genitalia.
Ms Gammie said: “He explained the basis for his predilection for sex with underage girls, whilst acknowledging that he knew it was wrong.
“He discussed having sexual activity with children.”
Summers also told the girl that he had sexually abused children before although, despite a police investigation, no evidence of this being true was found.
Accused attempted to chat to real teens
Another chat log showed Summers communicated with a 13-year-old girl.
Ms Gammie said: “The accused discussed her bra, breasts and bottom and asked her questions about her underwear.
“He asked if she had seen her friends naked.”
The child asked how old Summers was and, when he replied 25, she asked him “why he was adding 13-year-olds and asking them inappropriate questions” and ended the conversation.
Another 13-year-old girl simply replied “okay bye” when Summers told her he was 25.
But that didn’t deter Summers, who continued to send her a vile graphic message describing wanting to perform a sex act on her.
In yet another chat, which appeared to be with a 13-year-old girl, Summers stated he was involved in ongoing sexual abuse of children in real life.
Summers also graphically described sexual activity he wanted the child he was messaging to engage in with him and another child.
He continued to brag about sexually abusing children and warned: “I’m being deadly serious.”
Summers, of Ramsay Terrace, Fraserburgh, pled guilty to three charges of attempting to communicate indecently with an older child and one of attempting to communicate indecently with a child under 13.
He also admitted to one charge of attempting to communicate sexually with an older child and attempting to cause them to look at a sexual image.
‘Predatory and disturbing’
Defence solicitor Sam Milligan told the court that these offences had come as a result of a “breakdown in a number of factors” in his client’s life.
He said: “Mr Summers had hit the buffers and this seemed to exacerbate his mental health concerns.
“He has failed to gain employment in the last year and he believes this is due to this matter.”
Sheriff Miller told Summers that in “each case” he sent sexual communications to what he believed to be children that were “completely inappropriate”.
“The predatory and disturbing content of your conversations was made clear,” he said.
“And this was of an overtly sexual and highly disturbing nature.
“It is a very serious and concerning pattern of behaviour and there is a high possibility of further offending by you.”
Sheriff Miller jailed Summers for 27 months and placed him on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
He will also have to spend 24 months on licence upon his release from prison.
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