David Purcell – Kelso

27 Tuesday Oct 2020

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October 2020

Edinburgh ex-Army pervert sent indecent photos to paedophile hunters

AN Army veteran was caught sending disgusting sexual pictures to a ‘14-year-old girl’, a court has heard.

David Purcell, 50, contacted an online account apparently belonging to a teenager and sent her revolting videos of him performing solo sex acts on himself.

The pervert also asked the girl to send him indecent images of herself as well as repeatedly sending photos of his penis to the account over a three-week period earlier this year.

But Purcell was snared after it emerged he had not been messaging a young girl but in fact had been in contact with a member an the online paedophile hunter group.

Members of the group attended at his former Edinburgh home with the intention of confronting Purcell about his online activities but they were informed by a family member he was not there at the time.

And after being informed of the group’s involvement Purcell, who served with the Motor Transport Platoon, subsequently handed himself into a local police station and confessed his crime.

Purcell pleaded guilty to sending sexual images over the internet to who believed was a 14-year old girl when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and he returned to the dock for sentencing.

Sheriff Alistair Noble said: “It is recognised this is a serious matter. You engaged in sexual communication online with what you believed was a 14-year-old girl but it was in fact a decoy.

“But obviously you have had a productive life serving in the armed forces and what I propose to do here is impose a community payback order.”

He placed Purcell, currently of Kelso, Scottish Borders, on the Sex Offenders’ Register and for three years and ordered him to be supervised for the same period.

Purcell was also made subject to a conduct requirement requiring him not to delete any internet history and to hand over any devices for inspection when required to do so,

William Anderson – Duns

03 Thursday Sep 2020

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September 2020

Borders porn obsessive spared jail

A 36-year-old man said to be obsessed with pornography was found to have downloaded more than five million images.

That compulsion led to William Anderson accessing more extreme pornographic images as well as indecent pictures of children, Jedburgh Sheriff Court was told.

The self-employed fencer was spared a jail sentence after pleading guilty to three offences of downloading indecent images at his home in Glebe Road in Duns between June 2018 and May 2019.

Anderson was given a community payback order involving three years’ supervision with conduct requirements and 225 hours’ unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years.

Sheriff Nigel Morrison highlighted the number of pornographic images downloaded to devices belonging to Anderson, but the court was told that there were less than 1,000 in each of the three categories of indecent images resulting in prosecution.

Anderson pleaded guilty to having images depicting in an explicit and realistic way sexual contact between adults and animals, sexual contact between children and animals, extreme sexual violence, animal and human torture, mutilation of male and female genitalia, child rape and defecation.

He also admitted charges of possession of indecent photos of children and taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent photos of children at his home between June 2018 and May 2019.

Thomas Donaldson – Hawick

14 Saturday Dec 2019

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December 2019

Hawick 61-year-old admits downloading indecent images of children

A 61-year-old Hawick man has been put on the sex offenders’ register after admitting offences including possession of child abuse images

Thomas Donaldson yesterday, December 3, pleaded guilty to having an image of extreme pornography involving bestiality and also downloading indecent images of children.

Those offences were committed at a house in Chay Blyth Place in Hawick between 2010 and January this year.

Sentence was deferred at Selkirk Sheriff Court until Monday, January 13, for the production of background reports.

James Ascroft – Ednam/Kelso

01 Wednesday May 2019

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June 2019

Kelso man fined for indecent downloads

A 54-year-old man who admitted possessing indecent images of children and bestiality videos has been ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

James Ascroft pleaded guilty to the offences which happened at his home at Harpertoun Cottage near Kelso, in September 2017.

A previous court hearing was told that that officers at the cyber crime unit received information in December 2016 that a device associated with his home address was accessing indecent images.

Officers searched the home and 40 devices were seized and removed from the house for examination.

Unlawful material was discovered on five of them.

Of the 20,000 pornographic images and videos found, 136 were found to be unlawful.

Regarding the indecent images of children, two were found to be in the most serious Category A and two in Category B.

One Category C movie and 102 images were recovered.

In addition, there were 29 extreme pornographic videos featuring bestiality involving sexual intercourse between a person and an animal.

Following the examination of hard drives seized from his home, officers attended at Ascroft’s home address on May last year.

Ascroft’s lawyer said his client had no idea how he came into possession of the images.

He explained that when he had been downloading lawful material en-masse from the internet the unlawful material must have been included, explaining that he found the material “abhorrent”.

The lawyer added that Ascroft did not realise possessing the bestiality videos was illegal.

Sheriff Donald Ferguson told Ascroft: “This is indeed a serious matter.”

Ascroft was also placed on supervision for 24 months as part of a community pay back order and his name placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a similar period.

April 2019

Indecent images of children and bestiality videos found at 54-year-old’s home near Ednam

A 54-year-old man has had his name put on the sex offenders’ register at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after admitting possessing indecent images of children and bestiality videos.

James Ascroft pleaded guilty to committing those offences at his home near Ednam in September 2017.

Nicole Lavelle, prosecuting, said that officers at Police Scotland’s cyber-crime unit received information in December 2016 that a device associated with Ascroft’s home address was accessing indecent images.

Officers then searched his home, and 40 devices were seized and taken away for examination, unlawful material later being discovered on five of them.

The fiscal added that of the 20,000 pornographic images and videos found, 136 were found to be unlawful.

Two of the indecent images of children were found to be in the most serious category A and two in category B.

One category-C movie and 102 images were also recovered.

On top of that, 29 extreme pornographic videos were found featuring bestiality.

Following examination of hard drives seized from his home, officers returned there in May last year.

He made no reply to being cautioned and gave a no-comment interview at Hawick police station.

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre deferred sentence until June 10 for the production of a criminal justice social work report but ordered that Ascroft’s name go on the sex offenders’ register in the meantime.

Neil Murray – Newtown St Boswells

27 Saturday Apr 2019

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June 2019

Borderer given three-year supervision order

A 32-year-old man caught out by a vigilante group telling someone he thought was a girl of 13 that he wanted to have sex with her has been given a three-year supervision order.

Neil Murray admitted sending messages of a sexual and indecent nature to someone he believed to be a girl called Beccy including a picture of his penis.

However, Selkirk Sheriff Court was told that he was really communicating with a group set up to target sexual predators via fake profiles on social media platforms.

He pleaded guilty to committing that offence at a house in Glenburn Avenue in Newtown between April and May last year.

Murray was given a three year community payback order with supervision and conduct requirements, and his name was put on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told a previous hearing that the fake profile was set up in the name of a decoy called Beccy posing as a 13-year-old girl and included a picture consistent with someone that age.

He explained: “The accused got in touch with her by waving at this girl Beccy with a Facebook request.”

Mr Fraser said that initially his messages were harmless, and she asked how old he was, and he replied 30, prompting the decoy to claim to be 13.

They continued to exchange messages via Facebook Messenger, with Murray telling her he worked as a janitor at a local school and asking for her mobile phone number.

The fiscal said that on April 13 last year Murray made contact through WhatsApp introducing himself as Neil from Facebook.

A conversation then took place during which he said that if was ever in Hawick he would come and see her, saying that he was single and asking if she was too.

Mr Fraser said Murray was saying things such as that he wanted to join her in a bath and would wash her back.

He also told her several times that he loved her.

He asked her if she would like a serious boyfriend, prompting her to remind him that she was supposedly only 13.

Murray told her that he wanted to have sex with her and for him to show her how to have sex.

He is then said to have made a “possible arrangement” to meet, referring to it as a date and an opportunity “to go somewhere private to have sex”.

The court heard how Murray then offered to send her a picture of his penis and asked her to send a photo of herself in return.

Mr Fraser said: “He told her he would make her feel like an adult when she had sex.”

Murray then asked whether Beccy wanted to see his penis, to which she replied that it was up to him.

Mr Fraser said there were six messages about having sexual relations from Murray and a similar number from the decoy saying that she was only 13.

After his messages were brought to the attention of the police, Murray told officers: “I am guilty of doing it.”

Murray, of Roxburgh Place in Newtown, pleaded guilty to attempting to send a sexual communication to a girl aged 13.

Not-guilty pleas to three other charges including arranging to meet Beccy and another supposed underage girl called Kayla for the purpose of engaging in unlawful sexual activity were accepted by the crown.

April 2019

Newtown man admits attempting to groom underage girl

A 31-year-old man was caught out by paedophile hunting team ‘No More Silents Voices UK’ after telling someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl that he wanted to have sex with her.

Neil Murray admitted sending messages of a sexual and indecent nature to the girl, supposedly called Beccy, including a picture of his private parts.

However, Selkirk Sheriff Court was told that he was really communicating with a group targeting sexual predators by setting up fake profiles on social media platforms.

He pleaded guilty to committing that offence at a house in Glenburn Avenue in Newtown in April and May last year.

Sentence has been deferred until next month for background reports.

Murray’s name was placed on the sex offenders’ register in the meantime.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser described how a fake profile was set up in the name of a decoy called Beccy posing as a 13-year-old girl and it included a picture consistent with someone that age.

He explained: “The accused got in touch with her by waving at this girl Beccy with a Facebook request.”

Mr Fraser said initially the messages were harmless, asking how she was feeling, but she then asked how old he was, and he replied that he was 30, 17 years older than her.

They continued to exchange messages via Facebook Messenger, with Murray saying he worked as a school janitor and asking the girl he believed to be Beccy for her phone number.

The fiscal said that on April 13 last year Murray made contact via WhatsApp introducing himself as Neil from Facebook.

A conversation took place between the pair, and he said that if was ever in Hawick he would come and see her, stating that he was single and asking if she was too.

Mr Fraser said Murray was saying things such as that he wanted to join her in the bath and would wash her back

He also told her several times that he loved her and asked her if she would like a serious boyfriend, only to be reminded that she was ostensibly 13.

The court was told Murray would then say what they would do when they met and that he wanted to have sex with her and for him to show her how to go about it.

Murray is then said to have made a “possible arrangement” to meet her, referring to that tryst as a date and a chance “to go somewhere private to have sex”.

The court heard how Murray then offered to send her a picture of his penis and asked her to send a photo in return.

Mr Fraser said: “He told her he would make her feel like an adult when she had sex.”

Murray followed that up by asking the decoy if she wanted to see his penis, prompting a reply that it was up to him.

Mr Fraser said there were six messages about having sexual relations from Murray and a similar number from the decoy saying she was only 13.

After their conversations were brought to the attention of the police, Murray told officers: “I am guilty of doing it.”

The court heard that he gave a “comprehensive explanation” of what had happened, and an examination of his phone confirmed the information would be available.

Murray, of Roxburghe Place in Newtown, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to send a sexual communication to a girl aged 13, namely messages of a sexual and indecent nature.

Not-guilty pleas to three other charges including arranging to meet up with Beccy and another underage girl called Kayla to engage in unlawful sexual activity were accepted by the crown.

Sentence was deferred until June 3 for the production of a criminal justice social work report and a restriction-of-liberty order assessment.

How long Murray’s name will remain on the sex offenders’ register will be determined when he is sentenced.

October 2020

Edinburgh ex-Army pervert sent indecent photos to paedophile hunters

AN Army veteran was caught sending disgusting sexual pictures to a ‘14-year-old girl’, a court has heard.

David Purcell, 50, contacted an online account apparently belonging to a teenager and sent her revolting videos of him performing solo sex acts on himself.

The pervert also asked the girl to send him indecent images of herself as well as repeatedly sending photos of his penis to the account over a three-week period earlier this year.

But Purcell was snared after it emerged he had not been messaging a young girl but in fact had been in contact with a member an the online paedophile hunter group.

Members of the group attended at his former Edinburgh home with the intention of confronting Purcell about his online activities but they were informed by a family member he was not there at the time.

And after being informed of the group’s involvement Purcell, who served with the Motor Transport Platoon, subsequently handed himself into a local police station and confessed his crime.

Purcell pleaded guilty to sending sexual images over the internet to who believed was a 14-year old girl when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and he returned to the dock for sentencing.

Sheriff Alistair Noble said: “It is recognised this is a serious matter. You engaged in sexual communication online with what you believed was a 14-year-old girl but it was in fact a decoy.

“But obviously you have had a productive life serving in the armed forces and what I propose to do here is impose a community payback order.”

He placed Purcell, currently of Kelso, Scottish Borders, on the Sex Offenders’ Register and for three years and ordered him to be supervised for the same period.

Purcell was also made subject to a conduct requirement requiring him not to delete any internet history and to hand over any devices for inspection when required to do so,

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September 2020

Borders porn obsessive spared jail

A 36-year-old man said to be obsessed with pornography was found to have downloaded more than five million images.

That compulsion led to William Anderson accessing more extreme pornographic images as well as indecent pictures of children, Jedburgh Sheriff Court was told.

The self-employed fencer was spared a jail sentence after pleading guilty to three offences of downloading indecent images at his home in Glebe Road in Duns between June 2018 and May 2019.

Anderson was given a community payback order involving three years’ supervision with conduct requirements and 225 hours’ unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years.

Sheriff Nigel Morrison highlighted the number of pornographic images downloaded to devices belonging to Anderson, but the court was told that there were less than 1,000 in each of the three categories of indecent images resulting in prosecution.

Anderson pleaded guilty to having images depicting in an explicit and realistic way sexual contact between adults and animals, sexual contact between children and animals, extreme sexual violence, animal and human torture, mutilation of male and female genitalia, child rape and defecation.

He also admitted charges of possession of indecent photos of children and taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent photos of children at his home between June 2018 and May 2019.

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December 2019

Hawick 61-year-old admits downloading indecent images of children

A 61-year-old Hawick man has been put on the sex offenders’ register after admitting offences including possession of child abuse images

Thomas Donaldson yesterday, December 3, pleaded guilty to having an image of extreme pornography involving bestiality and also downloading indecent images of children.

Those offences were committed at a house in Chay Blyth Place in Hawick between 2010 and January this year.

Sentence was deferred at Selkirk Sheriff Court until Monday, January 13, for the production of background reports.

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June 2019

Kelso man fined for indecent downloads

A 54-year-old man who admitted possessing indecent images of children and bestiality videos has been ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

James Ascroft pleaded guilty to the offences which happened at his home at Harpertoun Cottage near Kelso, in September 2017.

A previous court hearing was told that that officers at the cyber crime unit received information in December 2016 that a device associated with his home address was accessing indecent images.

Officers searched the home and 40 devices were seized and removed from the house for examination.

Unlawful material was discovered on five of them.

Of the 20,000 pornographic images and videos found, 136 were found to be unlawful.

Regarding the indecent images of children, two were found to be in the most serious Category A and two in Category B.

One Category C movie and 102 images were recovered.

In addition, there were 29 extreme pornographic videos featuring bestiality involving sexual intercourse between a person and an animal.

Following the examination of hard drives seized from his home, officers attended at Ascroft’s home address on May last year.

Ascroft’s lawyer said his client had no idea how he came into possession of the images.

He explained that when he had been downloading lawful material en-masse from the internet the unlawful material must have been included, explaining that he found the material “abhorrent”.

The lawyer added that Ascroft did not realise possessing the bestiality videos was illegal.

Sheriff Donald Ferguson told Ascroft: “This is indeed a serious matter.”

Ascroft was also placed on supervision for 24 months as part of a community pay back order and his name placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a similar period.

April 2019

Indecent images of children and bestiality videos found at 54-year-old’s home near Ednam

A 54-year-old man has had his name put on the sex offenders’ register at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after admitting possessing indecent images of children and bestiality videos.

James Ascroft pleaded guilty to committing those offences at his home near Ednam in September 2017.

Nicole Lavelle, prosecuting, said that officers at Police Scotland’s cyber-crime unit received information in December 2016 that a device associated with Ascroft’s home address was accessing indecent images.

Officers then searched his home, and 40 devices were seized and taken away for examination, unlawful material later being discovered on five of them.

The fiscal added that of the 20,000 pornographic images and videos found, 136 were found to be unlawful.

Two of the indecent images of children were found to be in the most serious category A and two in category B.

One category-C movie and 102 images were also recovered.

On top of that, 29 extreme pornographic videos were found featuring bestiality.

Following examination of hard drives seized from his home, officers returned there in May last year.

He made no reply to being cautioned and gave a no-comment interview at Hawick police station.

Sheriff Derrick McIntyre deferred sentence until June 10 for the production of a criminal justice social work report but ordered that Ascroft’s name go on the sex offenders’ register in the meantime.

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June 2019

Borderer given three-year supervision order

A 32-year-old man caught out by a vigilante group telling someone he thought was a girl of 13 that he wanted to have sex with her has been given a three-year supervision order.

Neil Murray admitted sending messages of a sexual and indecent nature to someone he believed to be a girl called Beccy including a picture of his penis.

However, Selkirk Sheriff Court was told that he was really communicating with a group set up to target sexual predators via fake profiles on social media platforms.

He pleaded guilty to committing that offence at a house in Glenburn Avenue in Newtown between April and May last year.

Murray was given a three year community payback order with supervision and conduct requirements, and his name was put on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser told a previous hearing that the fake profile was set up in the name of a decoy called Beccy posing as a 13-year-old girl and included a picture consistent with someone that age.

He explained: “The accused got in touch with her by waving at this girl Beccy with a Facebook request.”

Mr Fraser said that initially his messages were harmless, and she asked how old he was, and he replied 30, prompting the decoy to claim to be 13.

They continued to exchange messages via Facebook Messenger, with Murray telling her he worked as a janitor at a local school and asking for her mobile phone number.

The fiscal said that on April 13 last year Murray made contact through WhatsApp introducing himself as Neil from Facebook.

A conversation then took place during which he said that if was ever in Hawick he would come and see her, saying that he was single and asking if she was too.