A man who groomed a young teenager and went on to grope the boy under a blanket has been spared jail and told not to do it again.
Thomas Baird, 30, had previously been warned by Sheriff Gary Aitken that he faced a “custodial sentence of a considerable length”.
He’d pled guilty to a single charge of engaging in sexual activity with or towards a child while living at addresses in Alness and elsewhere between December 1 2018 and January 27 2020.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir told Inverness Sheriff Court that Baird’s victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had allowed him access to his Snapchat account.
Baird then added users who shared explicit content with the boy’s account and Baird encouraged him to view imagery of men and women to “see if he liked both”.
Child’s mum discovered ‘shenanigans’
Mr Weir explained: “The accused added people to his account who sent sexual images and videos and told the complainer he would ‘get used to it’ and it was normal to get these things.
“The accused also added him to a Snapchat group where intimate images were traded and encouraged him to send images of himself to the group.
“Although the complainer told the accused he was straight, the accused encouraged him to get images of males and females to see if he liked both”.
Mr Weir said that Baird had also shared “before and after” images of his penis when he underwent a vasectomy and circumcision and pressured the boy to reciprocate.
On another occasion, Baird sat next to the child on a sofa and pulled a blanket over them before touching the boy’s private parts over his clothing, prompting the teen to tell him his behaviour was “disgusting”.
The child’s mother became worried after discovering Baird had sent her son an animation featuring a novelty sex toy and she found a Facebook chat between the pair which was entitled “shenanigans”.
She voiced her concerns, the authorities were contacted and the boy – who was over 13 but under 16 – was interviewed on more than one occasion.
He eventually revealed the extent of Baird’s troubling sexual behaviour.
‘Very close to a lengthy prison sentence’
Sheriff Aitken decided to impose a “robust community payback order” and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) on Baird, who was married at the time of the offences but is now divorced.
The SHPO restricts Baird’s internet activity and contact with children under the age of 16 for the next five years – the same length of time he’ll remain on the sex offenders register.
The sheriff told the first-time offender that he must carry out 240 hours of unpaid work and be under social work supervision for three years.
“This was an appalling offence which society takes an unbelievably dim view of.
“You are very close to a lengthy prison sentence but my principal concern is to try and make sure you do not do anything like this ever again,” Sheriff Aitken told Baird.
If the convicted paedophile breaches the terms of his sentence he will be jailed.
Smuggled out of court by police
After he was sentenced, a disguised Baird was secretly escorted from the court building under police protection.
Some of his victim’s family, who had been in court and demonstrated their disapproval at the non-custodial sentence, were waiting outside for him.
Baird, who had been living with his parents in Invergordon, has since moved out after their home was attacked with bricks thrown through their windows.
He is now living in a house of multiple occupancy in Inverness.
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