Mark Patterson, a paedophile from Kelso, was discovered in possession of obscene photos depicting the abuse of children as young as eight, following his attempts to engage in inappropriate communication with two minor girls online, as reported in Jedburgh Sheriff Court.
Mark Patterson, aged forty-two, articulated his intention to engage in sexual actions with one of the minors, who indicated her age as 12, and solicited information regarding the sexual experiences of another minor, who claimed to be 14.
He solicited obscene photographs of both girls during the sexualised dialogues, before it was revealed that he had been communicating with undercover police investigators.
Mark Patterson perpetrated the acts at his residence in Priors Court, Kelso. Authorities who responded to his residence discovered a total of 67 images and videos, depicting females aged between eight and 16, on two mobile phones confiscated from his bedroom.
The devices also showed that he had shared some of the sick material on the social messaging app Kik. Mark Patterson was also charged with taking, or permitting to be taken, indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children at his home in Kelso and elsewhere between September 2016 and December 2018.
Mark Patterson pleaded guilty to all four charges.
Defence lawyer Ed Hulme said his client had expressed genuine and significant remorse.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron said: “The charges more than merit the imposition of a custodial sentence.
“But I have to consider whether there are alternatives and in your case there are.”
The sheriff imposed a night-time curfew at Patterson’s Kelso home between the hours of 9pm and 7am for the next six months and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for two years.
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