Edinburgh pervert 'Scotch Willie' targeted girls he believed were 12 online

A pervert used the online name of “Scottish Willy” to target young girls he believed to be 12-years-old.

Craig Birrell, 53, contacted the youngsters on internet chat rooms and told them he wanted to have sex with them.

Birrell also enticed the girls to log onto a chat site where he allowed them to view him stripping off and performing a sex act.

He was not chatting to schoolgirls but was in fact in contact with two undercover police officers.

Birrell will be fully sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court next month.

Birrell pleaded guilty to two offences of causing a person he believed to be under 13 to look at a sexual image and communicating indecently when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Prosecutor Callum Thomson told the court undercover police officers were “deployed as a 12-year-old girls” called Kaitlyn and Gemma on online chat sites.

They were subsequently contacted by a man using the name ‘Scottish Willy’ and despite knowing their age he continued to message them asking if they wanted to meet up with him “for fun”.

The court heard Birrell told the pair that he was willing to come to see them so they could “watch him strip for real” and “touch his c***”.

Mr Thomson said the predator used a web camera to broadcast footage of himself where he stripped naked and masturbated which the two officers could see on their screens.

The court was told Birrell was given the youngsters’ email addresses and sent messages, particularly to Gemma who told the accused she was 12 in an email.

Birrell carried out the offending against ‘Gemma’ between August 19 and September 18 2020 and against ‘Kaitlyn’ between August 10 and September 18 2020.

Police traced an IP address used by ‘Scottish Willy’ to the address of Burrell’s partner who he lives with at the city’s West Bryson Road in November 2020.

Officers seized a number of computer devices and the court heard Birrell told officers he “knew it was wrong but it was a compulsion”.

Lawyer Mark Harrower, defending, said his client was engaging with a child protection charity and also attending sessions a private psychotherapist.

Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC placed Birrell on the Sex Offenders’ Register and deferred full sentence to next month .

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