A PERVERT who begged an underage girl to sell him naked pictures of herself has been spared jail.

William Figures, 33, offered the 15-year-old child £10 for topless pictures and £30 for naked shots of her whole body.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard Figures sent a message to her mobile phone which read: “Right, I am perv. Well whit male isn’t? lol. I was thinking, you could send a nude pic and that could be aner ten spot. But if it’s a full nude body pic, I would give you £20 on top of the tenner.”

The shocked youngster contacted a friend, who urged her to tell her mother.

Her mum then contacted the police and Figures was arrested after officers searched his flat in Kintyre Avenue, Linwood, and seized his phone.

While searching his property for other electronic devices, they found a gas-powered air-rifle stashed under his bed.

At a pre-trial hearing at Paisley Sheriff Court last month, Figures pleaded guilty to a charge of intentionally, and for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or to cause humiliation or distress to a child aged 15, sending messages asking her to send nude photographs of herself in exchange for money on May 17, 2018.

He also admitted possession of the air weapon without the proper registration certificate.

Sheriff Tom McCartney called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and warned Figures he could be caged.

But when Figures returned to the dock last week to learn his fate, the judge spared him jail.

As he placed Figures on a three-year Community Payback Order which will see him supervised by social workers and complete 300 hours of unpaid work in the next 12 months, the sheriff said: “These offences would often result in an immediate prison sentence.

"However, I do note you have never served a prison sentence and I note your previous convictions are limited to two for possession of controlled drugs, one of which dates back more than 10 years.”

He also placed Figures on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next three years and banned him from owning any devices which can access the internet, deleting his history, contacting anyone aged 17 or under or using any email addresses unless given permission by his social worker.

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