Convicted paedophile jailed after vigilante sting

Mark Sutherland was arrested at Partick Bus Station

A paedophile who believed he was going to meet a schoolboy has been jailed for two years after being snared by a vigilante group.

Mark Sutherland, 36, believed he was communicating with a 13-year-old boy on the dating app Grindr.

But in reality it was 48-year-old Paul Devine, part of group a called Groom Resisters Scotland.

A court heard Sutherland sent explicit pictures after being told the boy's age, then made arrangements to meet.

But when he turned up at Partick Bus Station in Glasgow on 31 January, Sutherland encountered two members of the organisation.

They stayed with him until police arrived.

Fake profile

After a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Sutherland was unanimously convicted two charges under the Sexual Offences Act between 18 and 31 January.

This included going to meet who he believed to be a 13-year-old with the intention of engaging in "unlawful sexual activity".

Sheriff Martin Jones QC jailed Sutherland for a total of two years.

In evidence, Mr Devine told how a fake profile was created as "bait" to draw in others.

He said he spoke to Sutherland - who has a similar previous conviction - on Grindr, then they swapped numbers and texted using WhatsApp.

Explicit photograph

Messages exchanged between Mr Devine, as the teenager, and Sutherland were shown to the jury.

Sutherland was told "I'm only 13" within the first few messages.

But he then sent an explicit photograph to the "boy" and asked for a picture in return.

Mr Devine replied that his camera was smashed and wasn't working.

Sutherland also asked: "Would you like to meet up some time?"

Exchanged numbers

Procurator fiscal depute Mark Allan asked: "That's a direct question to you, posing as a 13-year-old?"

Mr Devine replied: "Yes."

The messages moved to WhatsApp after the pair exchanged numbers.

The court heard Sutherland warned his victim to delete the chat and not show anyone his number.

In November 2015, Sutherland was jailed for 21 months after he sent explicit pictures and inappropriate messages to a 12-year-old boy.