East Lothian football coach jailed in paedophile vigilante sting

Raeburn, from Port Seton, East Lothian, was jailed for 14 months and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years when he admitted possessing the images at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last April. Picture: TSPL

Craig Raeburn contacted an online account he believed to be owned by a 12-year-old boy and sent him pictures of his penis and made lewd comments.

But the bogus WhatsApp account had been set up by internet group Wolf Pack Hunters UK who passed all Raeburn’s disturbing messages onto police.

Calls made to put an end to “out of control” vigilante groups

Raeburn contacted ‘12-year-old Cameron Scott’ just weeks after he had been released from prison after he was caught with hundreds of disgusting child abuse images last year.

Raeburn, from Port Seton, East Lothian, was jailed for 14 months and placed on the sex offenders register for ten years when he admitted possessing the images at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last April.

Now the ex-youth coach is back behind bars after admitting to sending pictures and messages of an explicit nature to the Wolf Hunter decoy between March 17 and 28 this year.

Sheriff Michael O’Grady QC branded the offences as “serious and concerning” and added in his opinion “custody is entirely appropriate”.

Sheriff O’Grady jailed Raeburn for 20 months and told the pervert he would be supervised for a further 12 months on his release.

The sheriff also placed 54-year-old Raeburn on the sex offenders register for ten years at the capital’s sheriff court yesterday.

Previously the court heard Raeburn, who was sacked from his position as an NHS manager following last year’s conviction, contacted a Skype account set up by a Wolf Pack Hunters UK member posing as a child.

The sordid chats switched to WhatsApp where Raeburn sent the boy pictures of his penis and made comments about engaging in “oral sex” and “full sex” with the lad.

A plea of not guilty to making arrangements to meet the boy at the capital’s Waverley Station with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with or in the presence of the child was accepted as part of a plea bargain.

A not guilty plea to Raeburn breaching his Sex Offenders Supervision Order (SOPO) by being in possession of an iPad between March 17 and 28 this year was also accepted by the Crown.

Yesterday Clare Connelly, defending Advocate, said her client was “sorry and ashamed” by his actions and “in his words he had been sucked in again”.

Ms Connelly added Raeburn was keen to involve himself in a sex offenders rehabilitation course and he is currently “engaging in counselling services while in prison”.

Raeburn was jailed for 14 months last April after he was a caught with more than 1400 child abuse images and 20 revolting videos - some at the most extreme end of the spectrum - despite the pervert trying to delete most of the files.

But officers used specialist computer software to recover most of the evidence and associated file names.

He was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years and handed a five-year SOPO following his release from prison.