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The Courier
4 hours ago
- The Courier
Stirling paedophile told by sheriff 'I'm prepared to make your life very difficult'
A sheriff told a Stirling paedophile 'I'm prepared to make your life very difficult'. Mark Pentith sent vile messages to undercover police, believing he was chatting to a 13-year-old girl. During the course of the conversation he used the username 'Luv A Te3n'. Stirling Sheriff Court heard the 56-year-old had been struggling with prison life after being remanded in custody at his last appearance. Defence solicitor Virgil Crawford said although he had previous convictions of a similar nature, there had been a break in his offending. 'This incident follows a period of low mood on his part. 'He found out by accident that his son had passed away and no one had told him. 'Shortly after, there was an adult female he was communicating with that turned out not to be who he thought. 'He seems to be in a period of low mood and unfortunately indulged in this behaviour.' He added: 'His period in custody has not been great for him due to the nature of the offence – he's kept separate from other prisoners.' Sheriff Paul Ralph questioned whether the offender had been truthful with social workers preparing pre-sentencing report. He said: 'I am prepared to make life difficult for you Mr Pentith. 'Not to play down the nature of his offence, I need to consider whether a custodial sentence is the only way to deal with you. 'I find there is an alternative. 'I do not accept some of what you said to the social worker as being accurate or true. 'You say you are not sexually attracted to teens but that clearly flies in the face of the conversation you had.' He placed Pentith on the sex offenders register for five years. In addition he was made the subject of a three-year supervision order – the maximum period available – with the condition he take part in the Moving Forward to Change programme for sexual offenders. Pentith must also carry out 225 hours of unpaid work. Sheriff Ralph also imposed a number of strict conditions tightly controlling Pentith's access to the internet. He can only have one phone or computer, which must be registered with his supervisor, he cannot use other devices to access the internet and cannot install apps or use social media or chatrooms without permission. He is banned from using encryption, private browsers or deleting his internet history. Pentith had earlier pled guilty to attempting to communicate indecently with a child between February 2 and 19 last year. The court heard he had contacted the decoy account called Maisie on social media chatline ChatIW. In one message Pentith said to the undercover officer: 'I don't want to get in trouble lol? You're underage?' In another message, he asked what kinds of sexual experience she had and whether she had touched a male.
The Courier
23-05-2025
- The Courier
Public shouts of 'beast' as Stirlingshire man with sick material is sentenced
A Stirlingshire man was hounded with shouts of 'beast' as he was put on the sex offenders register for downloading hundreds of child abuse images. Andrew Strachan, 52, of Drymen, visited websites with names such as 'Teen & PreTeen Girls JailBait Pictures' and 'cute little girls'. He was told by a sheriff his actions directly contributed to the abuse of children. Stirling Sheriff Court how Strachan downloaded the images over a period of more than four years. A written narrative put before the court – but not read aloud – stated: 'At around 8.15am on May 19 2020 officers executed a search warrant at the home address of the accused. 'He was found within, along with his wife. The accused was cooperative and directed police to the location of a number of electronic devices and provided passwords for each.' On an iMac computer were found 124 inaccessible category B images and two accessible category B images. 'The images show girls aged between two and 14 being subjected to sexualised posing and non-penetrative sexual activity with adults.' On a hard drive, officers found 111 inaccessible category C images and 14 inaccessible category C videos. The narrative stated: 'These depict girls aged between 8 and 14 engaging in sexualised posing.' In a second one they found 113 inaccessible category C images and 14 inaccessible category C video files. The narrative noted 'The examiners could not determine when the images had been downloaded but data showed relevant website visits to sites with the obviously underage material.' The last relevant website visit was September 8 2016. Strachan's defence agent said he had no previous convictions and had taken proactive steps to address his offending. She said: 'I think that's quite a big thing for him, in that he recognises there's a problem and has sought help. 'It shows genuine insight on his behalf and he's been assessed as low risk.' Strachan admitted taking or making indecent images of children at his home address between February 2016 and May 2020. Sheriff Paul Ralph told him: 'Those who access material of this sort bear responsibility for abuse by creating demand for such material.' He placed him on a two-year supervision order and ordered he carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. In addition he was placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Strachan hid his face as he left court to shouts of 'beast' from members of the public.
The Courier
16-05-2025
- The Courier
Stirling paedophile caught chatting to '13-year-old girl' with username 'Luv A Te3n'
A serial paedophile with the username 'Luv A Te3n' engaged in a sickening web chat with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl. Mark Pentith was in fact exchanging messages with an undercover cop, Stirling Sheriff Court heard. The 56-year-old pled guilty to attempting to communicate indecently with a child between February 2 and 19 last year. Sentence was deferred but he was remanded in custody after the court heard he had been previously handed a two-year suspended sentence by an English court in 2011 for downloading indecent images of children, with a further analogous conviction from 2018. He was told a custodial sentence was a 'strong likelihood'. Fiscal depute Jamie Hilland said Pentith contacted the decoy account called Maisie on social media chatline ChatIW. He was using a profile with the username Luv A Te3n. 'Witness Maisie advised the accused she was 13 and the accused advised he was on ChatIW to 'chat to teen girls,' said Mr Hilland. 'Witness Maisie then asked the accused if he chatted on any other platforms and suggested moving the conversation to Snapchat. 'The accused agreed providing witness Maisie with the Snapchat profile Mark P. 'The accused and witness Maisie move to Snapchat where the conversation continued.' In one message from Pentith to the undercover officer he said: 'I don't want to get in trouble lol? You're underage?' In another message, he asked what kinds of sexual experience she had and whether she had touched a male. He also ordered her: 'Put your hand in your panties right now. Show me your hands in your panties Maisie'. Pentith went on to tell her that he was sitting on a sofa in his boxers and asked if she wanted to sit on his knee while wearing a revealing outfit, before asking her to send him a picture in her 'sexiest panties'. He was arrested just over a month later. Pentith, of Irvine Place, Stirling, was placed on the sex offenders register ahead of sentencing next month.
BBC News
07-05-2025
- BBC News
Shed conman jailed after scamming victims out of £110,000
Shed conman jailed over scams worth £110,000 5 minutes ago Share Save Share Save Tim Bugler Alistair Baxter failed to construct sheds and cabins despite taking large deposits A man has been jailed after he scammed nearly 70 people across Scotland out of a total of £110,000 by falsely promising to build garden sheds and summerhouses. Alistair Baxter advertised on social media, took orders and pocketed deposits from victims in Dunbartonshire, Stirlingshire, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The 36-year-old made over £30,000 a year from the scheme and a sheriff told Baxter: "Your greed was quite remarkable." He pleaded guilty to fraud at Stirling Sheriff Court and has been jailed for three years and four months. The court heard how people who paid thousands of pounds in deposits received calls from Baxter asking for more money before their garden buildings were put up. But despite paying the extra sums, the buildings were not erected. One victim paid a £1,000 deposit, then Baxter asked for two further payments totalling £1,650 over five months. When the customer contacted him, Baxter blocked him on Facebook and messaged him: "You're not getting your shed ha ha ha." Sheriff Derek Hamilton told Baxter, who appeared for sentencing via a video link from Low Moss Prison: "You were literally laughing at him." Google Alistair Baxter was sentenced after admitting fraud at Stirling Sherriff Court The court heard that other people who complained and asked for their money back got only partial refunds or, in most cases, no refund at all. Some customers received deliveries of materials, but no construction took place. Others who previously had summerhouses erected by Baxter's company, AB Garden Building Ltd, went on to pay extra for improvements. But these were never carried out and they lost their money. Prosecutor Jamie Hillend said Baxter defrauded 67 customers of a total of £110,000 between September 2020 and March 2024. The court heard they were unlikely ever to get their money back. Significant sums lost
The Courier
07-05-2025
- The Courier
Conman joiner jailed at Stirling for £110k sheds scam
A conman joiner who scammed people across Scotland with fake promises to build sheds and summer houses has been jailed by a sheriff who said: 'The public is fed up with bogus workmen'. Alistair Baxter, who ran AB Garden Building Limited, took money from more than 60 people by promising to build sheds and summer houses. The 36-year-old took more than £100,000 in deposits but failed to carry out any work. On average Baxter was taking home around £2500 per month, with the sheriff telling him, 'your greed was remarkable'. Baxter also mocked his victims, with one man receiving a message saying: 'you're not getting your shed, ha ha ha'. Stirling Sheriff Court heard a fraction of the money had been repaid. Jailed Sheriff Derek Hamilton told Baxter: 'I accept you paid back some money to some customers but that was very little in the scheme of things. 'This was a fraudulent scheme designed to defraud a large number of private individuals. 'Many were for significant sums – no doubt all of the victims felt the financial impact and they would have felt a range of emotions on real realising they had fallen victim.' In relation to the man sent the message by Baxter, Sheriff Hamilton added: 'He made three payments to you then had nothing to show for it. 'You were literally laughing at him'. He jailed him for 40 months, telling him: 'The public has to be protected from people like you.' Covid blamed Baxter's defence agent said her client had been a victim both of his own success and an employee who stole from him. She said: 'It will not help the victims in any way but he wishes to express his remorse to his victims. 'He had a successful business for years. Things spiralled out of control during Covid – he couldn't keep up with how well his business was doing. 'An employee working for him had taken money and he was struggling to pay suppliers. 'It's no excuse for his behaviour but it gives an explanation why he was taking money and was unable to pay it back.' 'Despicable' In April, Baxter, a prisoner at Low Moss, admitted being engaged in a fraudulent scheme whereby he dishonestly gained £110,000 from people living in the Stirling, Aberdeen, Falkirk, Glasgow and Dumbarton areas between September 2020 and March 2024. On that occasion, Sheriff Hamilton told him: 'You can expect a lengthy custodial sentence. 'This was a despicable course of behaviour. 'Approaching 70 customers have been defrauded with little or no intention on your part of carrying out work.' Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, said: 'This was a clear case of deception and an egregious breach of trust by Alistair Baxter. 'He took significant sums of cash from people who paid him to do work and then brazenly refused to do the work or return their deposits. 'It was an appalling course of behaviour and he has now been held to account for his crimes.' For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
