A RENFREW man has appeared in court charged with sending sexual messages to an ‘underage girl’ who was actually an undercover police officer.
William Barr, 60, is said to have sent a number of indecent photographs to what he thought was a 14-year-old child.
It is claimed that Barr, of Broadloan, sent the messages from his home in November last year.
But the person who is said to have received the messages was actually a male police officer, in his 40s, who was pretending to be a non-existent teenager named Mollie Reynolds.
Barr appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court last week to face a single charge under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009.
It is alleged he sent the messages “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.”
Barr made no plea to the charge during a behind-closed-doors hearing before Sheriff Lindsey Kooner.
The case was continued for prosecutors to investigate further and Barr was released on bail with special conditions in place.
No future court dates have been set but Barr is expected to go on trial before a jury some time later this year.
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