Snared by paedophile hunters: Edinburgh hotel pervert sent 'girl' 13' indecent image

An Edinburgh hotel worker who sent a disgusting image to who he believed was a 13-year-old schoolgirl has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

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Subhojit Paul, 36, contacted a social media account in the name of ‘Lauren’ and began sending her sordid messages over a five week period.

Paul told ‘Lauren’ he wanted to meet her and told her she “looked sexy” and that he wanted to her to become his girlfriend.

Picture pervert: Subhojit Paul,

He was told on several occasions the girl was 13-years-old but continued to contact her before sending the disgusting image of a penis to her.

But the pervert was snared after it emerged ‘Lauren’ was an adult member of paedophile hunter group C.O.S.T who had set up the account in a bid to catch online predators.

Members of the paedophile hunter group turned up at Paul’s home and live-streamed their sting on him before calling in then police.

READ MORE: Edinburgh pervert caught with hundreds of indecent pictures of children

Paul, from Broomhall, Edinburgh, appeared at the city’s sheriff court last month and pleaded guilty to sending the image and messages for the purposes of sexual gratification between October 1 and November 6, 2019.

He returned for sentencing and Sheriff Adrian Cottam placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 12 months.

Paul was also placed under supervision of the social work department and told he must complete 185 hours of unpaid work in the community.

The sheriff also imposed a conduct requirement where Paul is banned from forming friendships with anyone under the age of 18 and he must allow inspection of his internet history when required to do so.

Lawyer Matthew Nicolson told the court Paul’s marriage has now ended and he has also lost his employment at a city hotel due to the court case.

READ MORE: Paedophile hunter sting: Armadale pervert caught trying to groom a girl he believed was just 12 years of age

Paul contacted the girlt in October 2019 and was told she was aged 13 and was from Newcastle.

He initially said he was 14 but later changed his age to 19 and asked to meet up with the girl before going on to tell her she was “sexy” and had “nice boobs” and asked her what size she was.

Paul then sent ‘Lauren’ the picture of the erect penis though the person in the image could not be identified.

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