A paedophile snared by a vigilante group in Aberdeen has been jailed for 16 months.
Raul Perez had travelled from the Philippines for a training course with his work when he began messaging a person he thought to be a teenager called Ben Holmes, and asked the supposed 14-year-old to meet him at the Aberdeen Altens Hotel.
Perez encouraged his intended prey to come to the hotel on Tuesday, March 27, despite receiving a response from the other user referring to changing out of his school uniform.
The 35-year-old then asked the person he took to be the younger male: “Do you like to have romantic moments?”
Sex offender snared by vigilantes at Aberdeen hotel faces prison
However, Perez was left dumbfounded when a group of men instead arrived and it emerged that he had been lured into a trap by a vigilante group called Groom Resisters Scotland.
The police later arrived at the hotel and arrested the would-be child molestor.
Yesterday, when he returned to Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentencing, Perez was sent to prison for 16 months and put on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
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The accused appeared on remand from HMP Grampian, and his sentence was backdated to March 29, when he was first locked up.
Police also discovered indecent videos of children on the phone the accused had used to send the messages.
Perez admitted being in possession of child pornography and meeting someone under the age of 16 with the intent to engage in sexual activity.
