A lorry driver who targeted single mothers on dating apps so he could gain access to their children to sexually abuse them has been jailed for three and a half years.
Vile Paul Stewart formed relationships with women he met online so he could abuse and photograph their children and send the images to a network of paedophiles. Sheriff Alistair Carmichael jailed Stewart and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for life when he appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court.
He also noted that Stewart would continue to pose a danger to the public and made him subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for ten years. The order restricts his internet access and bans him from being alone with anyone under 18.
Sheriff Carmichael said: “You have pleaded guilty to an appalling series of sexual offences that you committed against children you targeted. You took photographs of them and distributed them to other people. I am satisfied you pose an ongoing danger to the public as far as sexual offending goes. This is so serious the only disposal can be a custodial sentence.”
The court heard how sexual predator Stewart targeted women with young children on dating websites and gained their trust to be left alone to abuse his victims. He abused one young girl during a sleepover with her friend and took indecent images of an 11-month-old baby to share on the dark web.
He sexually assaulted a toddler and was about to marry a mother-of-four after a whirlwind romance after his initial arrest and release on bail. Stewart, 46, was already banned from having any contact with under-16s when he persuaded the mother to let him babysit two of her younger children overnight.
When the mother discovered he had been investigated and freed on bail, she quizzed Stewart but he persuaded her the charges were not serious as he had not been locked up. The court was told that Stewart was often described as being “great with kids and confident” by those who had trusted him to be in a relationship with him.
Stewart, from Wick, admitted a total of nine charges related to offences carried out in Arbroath and Wick between October 2020 and May 2024.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court: “He was an HGV driver. The offending to which he has pled guilty is indicative of someone who involves themselves with women who have children, so he can have access to them for nefarious purposes. Many witnesses have described him as great with kids and confident. It was known to the first mother that the accused has children of his own, but never spoke of them, nor did he have any contact with them.
“She did not know the reason for this. They met in 2017. Information was received by police and he was arrested at work in May 2023. Photos of her child were found on a location on his phone indicative of them being emailed from the device. They had been sent to three email addresses.”
Stewart had pulled the eight-year-old girl’s underwear aside to photograph her genitals as she slept. His face could be seen in the recovered images. He also took a minute-long video of himself carrying out a sex act over the girl’s friend during a sleepover, which he sent on to another paedophile. A total of 367 indecent images and 22 videos were recovered.
He appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and was granted bail on 3 August 2023, with strict conditions not to be in the company of anyone under 16 years old. A month later, he met another mother through dating site Tinder and quickly moved in with her and her children despite the bail conditions he knew he was subject to.
Ms Wilkinson said: “The relationship moved quickly and they were engaged to be married by Christmas 2023. She noted that it was all a bit quick. She became aware of the police investigations and confronted the accused, who told her he was on the dark web and that he was sent a link which he clicked on and his phone was then full of indecent images.
“He said what he had done wasn’t bad because he had been given bail. She asked the police but they were unable to give her the exact nature of the allegations against him. She read the bail order and was satisfied all was above board. She allowed the accused to watch her sons. Sometimes he was left in charge of them overnight.”
Solicitor Advocate Kris Gilmartin, defending, said: “Nothing which can be said can mitigate the nature of the offending and the inevitable harm it caused. He has expressed remorse and regret for his actions. The victim impact statements provide harrowing accounts of the effects his actions have had. There has been long-term devastating harm caused.”
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