Man made sexually explicit comments to undercover cops in paedo sting

A man made sexually explicit comments to undercover police officers he thought were girls aged 14 and 12.

The online sting led to James Stewart being put on the sex offenders’ register at Airdrie Sheriff Court this week.

Stewart, 55, of Calder Avenue, Coatbridge, admitted communicating in a sexual way with persons he believed to be children.

The offences happened between April 25 and June 2 last year.

Stewart, who told one of the undercover officers he was a locksmith, was arrested when officers turned up at his work early on August 8.

The first offender was bundled into the back of a police vehicle and held in the cells overnight before an initial court appearance.

The court heard police officers created profiles of girls on the Chat IW social media platform.

Stewart, whose user name was 'Airdrie Guy', contacted one of the ‘girls’ who made it clear she was only 14.

Despite that, he made inappropriate comments and asked for a photo of her in her pyjamas ‘so I can see how hot you look’.

He added ‘I don’t want one of you in your undies. That would get me the jail. LOL.’

The decoy sent a ‘non-sexual’ photo and Stewart replied with his own selfie-style picture.

Their online conversations took place over a two-week period and they also used the Snapchat and Kik platforms.

Stewart had an online chat with another undercover officer on June 2.

This time he was told she was 12 years old, but that didn’t stop him making comments about her breasts and asking what she wore under her pyjamas.

Stewart asked the ‘girl’ to send him a picture but she didn’t and the conversation ended.

Sheriff Derek Livingston deferred sentence until next month for background reports and an electronic tagging assessment.

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