In 2023, it was reported that Martin Blaikie, then of Newton Stewart, Dumfries and Galloway, was sentenced at Stranraer Sheriff Court.
Martin Blaikie avoided an immediate prison sentence after admitting to offences of sexual communication with a child. The court was informed that Martin Blaikie had used online platforms to contact profiles he believed belonged to young schoolgirls. During these exchanges, he sent sexually explicit messages in an attempt to groom the children, who had explicitly stated they were as young as 10 years old.
The investigation revealed that the children Martin Blaikie intended to target did not exist. Instead, the profiles were decoys operated by the “paedophile hunting” group Groom Resisters Scotland, who pose as minors online to identify and catch sexual predators. The group gathered evidence of Martin Blaikie’s explicit communications and provided the information to Police Scotland, leading to his arrest.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge handed Martin Blaikie a community payback order as an alternative to custody. This order requires him to perform unpaid community work. Furthermore, due to the nature of the offences, Martin Blaikie was placed on the sex offenders register for a period of four years.
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