A Lanarkshire trucker was caught sending vile messages in a paedophile hunter sting just five months after being released from prison for similar offences.
Craig Edgeler, 52, struck up a conversation with a 12-year-old girl called 'Darcy' but quickly turned the chat towards sex unaware he was talking to an adult working as part of the Shatter The Silence group. They aim to expose adults trying to meet children for sexual activity.
He sent a string of depraved messages before sending the female decoy explicit images. Further messaging led to Edgeler asking to meet at his home and a supermarket.
Members of the vigilante group confronted the serial fiend at his flat in Shotts, Lanarkshire, and streamed it live on Facebook. Police arrived and arrested Edgeler who told them, 'I've been an idiot'.
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Edgeler appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted sending sexual messages and images between September and October last year.
Depute fiscal Jennifer Cunningham said: "The witness, as part of her role as a volunteer for the online child protection vigilante group Shatter The Silence, created an online 'decoy' profile on the dating website application Jaumo and named herself Darcy, a 12-year-old female. On the September 7, 2021 the online profile Darcy was contacted by the user of another profile in the name of 'Craig31' and the accused sent a message.
"The accused then sent his number to Darcy and the conversation moved to WhatsApp. The conversation continued for a number of days and the accused asked about boyfriends, sexual experience and asked her to send images which he referred to as 'sex pics'.
"The witness sent a selfie style picture to the accused and he replied 'you look good, very sexy."
The prosecutor added: "When the messages turned sexual the witness informed another member of the vigilante group of the sexual conversation. The accused was confronted about his online activity at his flat before police were called.
"At the police station, he became highly emotional and was crying and freely stated 'I've been an idiot' and when asked to explain replied 'well I've got a phone'. The accused made reference to his belief that he was messaging a child and had also used WhatsApp to message the decoy and advised officers where they could find the device within his home address."
In April last year, Edgeler was jailed for two years after he admitted sending sexual messages and a sexual image to a girl he thought was 12. The sentence was backdated to June 2020 meaning he was released in March 2021.
Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen deferred sentence on Edgeler until next month for reports and remanded him in custody. He was again placed on the sex offenders' register.
Prosecutors have asked for him to be given a sexual offences prevention order.
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