Edinburgh man caught by paedophile hunter sting has been jailed

Gary Laver was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and full sentence deferred

Gary Laver sent sexual comments and images of his penis to who he believed was a 13-year-old girl called Sophie after contacting her profile online over a four week period.

Laver, 59, was lured into meeting up with the schoolgirl in the capital’s city centre but when he arrived in his red Jaguar he was confronted by paedo hunter group Protecting Kids Scotland.

The set up was live streamed on the PKS Facebook page on September 10 and has been viewed more than 85,000 times.

Following the online sting a relative of Laver and a friend of his family both contacted police to report he had sexually assaulted children in their care.

One relative told officers Laver had attacked a 10-year-old girl during baby sitting sessions by climbing into bed with her while naked and inducing the youngster to touch his penis.

And a family friend also said Laver had sexually assaulted a teenage girl after volunteering to drive her to visit a relative who was in hospital being treated for cancer.

Laver was remanded after he pleaded guilty to five sexual offences during an appearance from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday.

Prosecutor Ross Price told the court Laver contacted the account belonging to Sophie on a chat site before moving to WhatsApp.

The pervert was told the girl was just 13 but he continued to send her sexual messages and pictures of his penis to her between August 14 and September 10 this year.

Laver, from the Craigmillar area of the capital, told Sophie she was “sexy” and demanded the youngster send him “full length pictures” of herself.

The fiscal said Laver then arranged to meet the girl in Edinburgh city centre but after pulling up in his red Jaguar car he was met by members of the hunter group.

Police arrived 15 minutes later and subsequently discovered Laver had also downloaded 118 indecent images of children to his mobile phone.

Following his arrest a relative of Laver contacted the police to inform them he had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl he was looking after at a house in Niddrie Edinburgh in April 2018.

Mr Price said: “Around 7am the girl was in her bed and the accused has entered her bed while naked.

“The accused has taken the girls hand and placed it on his penis.

“The accused has put his hand into the girl’s pyjama bottoms and moved it towards the waistband of her underwear.

A family friend also told officers Laver had preyed on a 14-year-old girl after he had offered to drive her to the city’s Western General Hospital to visit a relative who was suffering from cancer.

The court was told Laver repeatedly placed his hand on the schoolgirl’s upper thigh as he drove her to the hospital on several occasions between December 2016 and December 2018.

Sheriff Robert Fife said: “Sentence will be deferred for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and all options are available to the court due to the gravity of the charges that you face.”

The sheriff placed Laver on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred full sentence to next month.