In January 2026, the Offender Database reported that Scott Barr, 35, of Newmilns, East Ayrshire, was sentenced to 23 months in prison at Paisley Sheriff Court. Barr, a former Eastwood High School pupil, was convicted of sending “vile” sexual messages to an 11-year-old girl and attempting to arrange a meeting for sexual activity.
The court heard that between April 2 and April 27, 2023, the paedophile targeted a youngster in Renfrewshire via Snapchat and WhatsApp. Barr sent a catalogue of explicit messages, telling the girl she was “gorgeous,” asking for pictures of her body, and describing sex acts he was performing on himself while thinking of her. In one exchange, when the girl asked, “Do you even care what age I am?”, Barr replied, “No, not if you don’t.” He further attempted to groom the child by asking her to perform indecent acts on video while he watched “live.” The abuse was uncovered by the victim’s mother, who noticed her daughter had become hysterical and was self-harming due to the stress of the secret communication.
During the proceedings, it was revealed that Barr had also failed to appear at Paisley Sheriff Court in June 2025, leading to a further charge. Sheriff Eoin McGinty slammed Barr’s behaviour, noting that his sexual advances had escalated “quickly and significantly.” Barr, who worked in a call centre, was snared after police discovered a video of him masturbating on the victim’s phone and Snapchat logs confirming his predatory intent.
Scott Barr was sentenced to 23 months in prison. The judge emphasised that the sentence reflected the “twisted” nature of his actions toward a primary-school-aged child. In addition to the custodial term, Barr was handed a 10-year Non-Harassment Order, legally prohibiting him from making any contact with the young victim for a decade.
As a result of his convictions for child sex offences and grooming, Barr has been ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. He is managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in East Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. This ensures that Police Scotland and the National Probation Service will maintain intensive, permanent monitoring of his digital activities and residency to safeguard the public upon his release.
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