February 2019

Paedophie avoids prison after being caught by paedophile hunting team

An already convicted paedophile has avoided a prison sentence after he was grooming what he believed was a child for sexual activity

Callum May, 44 of Glasgow appeared at Sheriff Court where he admitted sexual communication with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming

The court was told that May had contacted the online profile of someone he believed was a 12 year old girl

May sent highly sexualised messages and images in a clear bid to groom the child for sexual activity

However, the child did not exist and was instead an adult member of paedophile hunting team ‘Groom Resisters Scotland’ who pose online as children to catch sexual predators who target kids

In January 2018, May went on to arrange a meet, and told the girl he would bring condoms so the child would not get pregnant but when he arrived at the scene he was confronted by the team and questioned on his internet activity.

A member of the team rang the police and May was arrested at the scene.

The judge handed May a community payback order which would last for three years and told him he must also register as a sex offender

May 2016

Pervert recontacted girl, 11, after mum’s warning

Facebook sex predator Callum May re-contacted an 11-year-old girl two months after the youngster’s mother had warned him off

Pervert May, 42 — who was later trapped after a relative of his target posed online as another underage girl — used the alias ‘Malcolm Gavin’ for his seedy advances.

The mother of the primary school girl he’d tried to groom said how May refused to take a telling when he she told him to leave her daughter alone.

She said: “I couldn’t believe he got back in touch.

“I thought he would have been scared off but he messaged her again asking how she was.

“That’s when I knew we had to do something and her cousin set up a fake Facebook profile.”

May had recently arranged a late-night meeting with someone he thought was a female of 15, unaware that he had actually been communicating with an adult male.

He was confronted by the man at the rendezvous location in Greenock’s Barrs Brae area and was startled as he realised he was being filmed on a camera phone before running off.

The girl’s mum revealed how May got in touch with her daughter in June last year – at a time when her profile picture showed her as a 10-year-old.

She said: “He messaged her asking how old she was, even though it was clear from her picture she was a young girl.

“Thankfully, my daughter is very sensible that way and told me straight away that he had got in touch

“The name of the person messaging her said Malcolm Gavin but I knew from the pictures it was Callum May.

“He knew fine well she was a young girl. My daughter was only 11 at the time.

“I know a lot of young girls that age can look older but my girl looks her age — she doesn’t wear make-up or anything.

“I was absolutely sickened.”

The mother added: “The fact that a grown man wants to talk to an 11-year-old girl is disgusting.

“I was fuming because I know young girls can be easily led. If it was a more vulnerable girl god knows what could have happened.”

May, of Tasker Street in Greenock, sent indecent images of himself and lewd messages to the person he thought to be a 15-year-old female called ‘Jamie Russell’.

He is due to be sentenced on June 8 after being convicted of that offence and of contacting the 11-year-old. The girl’s mum said: “He’ll probably just get a slap on the wrist, but I hope he doesn’t.

“A message has to be sent out to people like him who think it’s ok to contact wee girls.

“I was furious because my daughter was quite scared about it.”
In a message to other parents the mum said: “I would say, be aware, because Facebook is full of weirdos.

“Monitor your child’s activity and know their passwords.

“I know that they’re not meant to be on Facebook under the age of 13 but everybody does it, so it’s a matter of making sure you know who your child is talking to on it.”