A man who exchanged 15,000 messages with a schoolgirl before they met and had a sexual encounter is facing jail. Darren McCulloch, 26, received a random message from the 14-year-old on social media while gaming and began chatting.
He was told her age but carried on communicating via WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facetime before the conversation became highly sexualised. The pair exchanged dozens of intimate images before arranging to meet in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, in September 2022.
McCulloch and the girl cuddled before he carried out a consensual sex act on the youngster. Her parents noticed changes in her behaviour but were horrified to discover she had been exchanging explicit images with McCulloch.
Police were called in and a probe revealed they had exchanged thousands of messages on WhatsApp. McCulloch, of Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted engaging in sexual activity with the girl.
He also pled guilty to communicating indecently with the girl between May and September 2022. Depute fiscal Scott O’Connor said: “The girl informed the accused she was 14 at which point the accused informed her that he was 24 and she then spoke with him over the next few weeks via WhatsApp, Facetime and Snapchat.
“After a short time of daily conversations the messages became more affectionate and the accused and the girl began sending sexual messages and images to each other. At some point during the conversations the accused asked to meet with her to which she agreed and they met in Wishaw in September 2022.
“They went to a park and while in some bushes there the accused cuddled her, he then placed his hand on her leg and ran it up her thigh. After this, her parents noticed a change in her in that she was spending a lot more time on her phone and her parents requested to see her phone which caused her to become irate.”
The prosecutor added: “Her parents were eventually given access to her mobile phone and observed a vast quantity of messages between the accused and their daughter.
“It was noted these messages were on a daily basis and contained sexual conversations and the sharing of sexual images and videos and there was also evidence that they had met up.”
Sheriff Liam Murphy deferred sentence on first offender McCulloch until next month for reports and continued bail.
He said: “You have pled guilty to serious sexual offences involving a child and all sentencing options, including imprisonment, will be available to me on the next occasion.” McCulloch was placed on the sex offenders’ register.
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