Fife paedophile's horrific 'daughter' comments to dating app contact

The Courier

01-05-2025

A convicted paedophile plucked a young girl's image from the internet then sent it to a woman, claiming it was his daughter and asking if she wanted him to perform a sex act on the child.
Archibald Smith's sick move came shortly after he sent a video of himself masturbating to the woman.
Fiscal depute Sarah Smith told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court the woman met Smith on the Badoo internet dating site and their conversation moved to Snapchat.
She was horrified by the turn the conversation had taken and notified police.
The offence was committed just three months after Smith was released from prison for previous sexual offences.
In a chilling echo of his latest offending, in 2018 he was in court for sending unsolicited child abuse material to a woman on Whatsapp.
The court heard Smith had sent some sexual pictures to the complainer, about which she was not concerned.
The prosecutor said: 'After sending a video of him masturbating the accused sent a message stating that he nearly got caught due to his daughter being in the vicinity.
'The accused then stated 'I had to tuck it up so that she could cuddle in'.
'The witness replied to this with a laughing emoji. The accused thereafter sent a picture of a young girl.'
The girl appeared to be between three and five and was fully clothed in a top, tutu and leggings.
Smith texted the woman with graphic sexual messages which she initially believed referred to her but realised he was actually speaking about the young girl.
The shocked woman confronted Smith, who replied he was joking and did not have a daughter, claiming the image was of a 'random'.
After repeatedly calling him a 'paedo', the woman told Smith she was reporting him.
Smith reacted by blocking her.
The prosecutor said The Crown believes there was a 'significant sexual element' to the offence.
Smith, of Ramsay Lane, Kincardine, admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner by sending the woman an image of a child and making sexual remarks about children, in August 2022.
Solicitor David Bell, defending, confirmed Smith did not have a child and had taken the image from the internet.
Sentence was deferred for reports and Smith was remanded in custody.
In 2018, Smith was arrested as he left court.
The pervert had been bailed after sentencing was deferred for background reports when he admitted possessing vile images of bestiality and babies and children being abused.
Police immediately caught up with him again and he was charged with distributing indecent images to a horrified woman over Whatsapp.
At that time, Sheriff James Williamson said what started out as apparently 'adult, consensual cyber sex soon deteriorated.'
He was jailed for a total of three years and eight months.