Galashiels man pleads guilty to indecency
A 38-year-old man who admitted communicating indecently with what he thought was a teenage girl under 16 years of age has been jailed for more than nine months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.
Neil Murray was, in fact, messaging an adult female decoy who was pretending to be a child named Libby. The offence happened at his former home in Newtown St Boswells between April 15 and April 26 last year.
The court was told Murray sent sexual communications to her which included commenting on her physical appearance and describing sexual activities. He also sent sexual images of himself.
When police officers visited the property they found a mobile in Murray's bedroom which contained 31 indecent images of children, 10 of which were in Category A which is the most serious.
Murray, who gave an address in Galashiels, pleaded guilty to two charges of communicating indecently and possession of indecent images of children.
Sheriff Peter Paterson said Murray was on supervision at the time of the offence and that a custodial sentence was inevitable.
He jailed him for a total of 286 days and made him subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for the next five years. Murray also had his name added to the sex offenders register for 10 years.