Edinburgh nail salon owner groomed 'boy 13' in disgusting online chats

A nail salon owner who asked who he believed to be a young boy to send him pictures of his genitals was caught out in a paedophile hunter sting.

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Mathew Wilkinson contacted an online account belonging to ‘13-year-old Thomas’ and began asking the lad for the intimate pictures.

Wilkinson, 36, also asked the child if he had gone through puberty and what size his penis was during the disturbing communication in 2018.

Paedo hunter group snared Mathew Wilkinson

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The pervert also sent messages including “do you play with it?’ and told him he was ‘such a cute little boy’ from his previous home in the Sciennes area of the capital.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told Wilkinson, who has since moved to Streatham, London, asked the 13-year-old boy to ‘take a photo of yours - I would love to see it’.

He was subsequently confronted by members of Wolf Pack Hunters UK at the Vegas Nails and Beauty salon in Edinburgh’s Newington after it emerged he had been in contact with a decoy.

Unmasked: Pervert Mathew Wilkinson

Wilkinson pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit communication and repeatedly asking for the child to send him images in February 2018.

Sheriff Adrian Fraser was told the social work report had not been prepared properly and said he could not sentence Wilkinson without all the relevant information.

Wilkinson was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and sentence was again deferred for the reports to next month.

READ MORE: Paedophile hunters catch Edinburgh pervert sending 'nauseating and alarming' messages to 'schoolboy'

Prosecutor Abbie McKearly told the court an online account in the name of 13-year-old Thomas was set up on the JAK online app by Wolf Pack member Oliver Baird.

Wilkinson contacted the account in February 2018 and continued to communicate with him despite being told the lad was just 13.

Ms McKearly said: “The communication continued and the accused sent messages of a sexual nature.

Wilkinson was confronted at his nail bar at the Newington area by members of the Wolf Pack Hunters group at around 1.50pm on April 23, 2018.

The court was told the confrontation was live streamed on the group’s Facebook page.

Wilkinson pleaded guilty to sending sexual written communication to who he believed was a child and repeatedly asking adult Oliver Baird to send images of himself, and he did attempt to communicate indecently with a child between February 9 and 23, 2018.

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