July 2021

Carer performed sex act to paedophile hunters’ decoy acting as 14-year-old girl on video call

A paedophile who masturbated to who he thought was a 14-year-old girl on a video call while working as a carer has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Unbeknown to Scott Swindle, the lewd messages he was sending was actually to a member of the vigilante group Child Online Safety Team posing as a teenager on social network and dating app Skout.

After sending images of his penis, he asked for naked pictures and called her “beautiful” and “sexy”

Swindle said he wanted to take the 14-year-old’s virginity and also mentioned the pair having a threesome with his girlfriend.

He acknowledged during the conversations what he was doing was “probably illegal” but insisted she was “worth the risk”.

Newcastle Crown Court heard it was on December 16, 2019, when Swindle first contacted the decoy profile using a fake profile under the name ‘Chris’.

He opened the conversation saying “hi, how are you today?” and followed it up six minutes later with “are you horny?”.

Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said: “The defendant asked if she was bisexual as her profile stated she liked men and women.

“[He] Asked if she had ever had a boyfriend, which she stated ‘no’.

“[He] Asked if she’d like a boyfriend or kissed anyone other than a family member and if she was a virgin before asking if she’d like to have sex with someone followed by a kiss.

“He asked when she was free to lose her virginity. When she indicated she was, he sent further images of his penis stating ‘inside you though’.”

Swindle did not respond to requests from the decoy for an image of his face as he stated he believed it was “probably illegal” for him to be even talking to her.

The 34-year-old even suggested the teenager come to his home so she could have a threesome with him and his girlfriend.

Mr Wardlaw added: “He stated he wanted to kiss her body all over repeated he could not wait to take her virginity. He asked her ‘can I lick your p**** for you?’ and he said ‘I’m going to f*** you all over’.

“He also encouraged the decoy to masturbate and asked her if she’d enjoyed it.

“When she said she had not, he stated he would help her to orgasm.”

The conversation switched to video calls, during which Swindle would masturbate to who he thought was a 14-year-old girl.

The court heard that he performed the sexual act from a number of locations including his place of work where he was a carer.

Swindle was rumbled on January 5 last year when he allowed his face to be seen on screen during a video call.

The decoy was able to take a screenshot and identified the emblem on his shirt which revealed his place of work.

Police were called and officers arrested Swindle, who admitted his offences when interviewed.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act.

The court heard how Swindle’s Hetton home had been “ransacked” after being broken into a number of times since his arrest.

He is currently living in a Newcastle hotel, his partner has left him and he lost his job as a carer