A MAN was confronted at his Helensburgh home for sending indecent messages to someone pretending to be a teen girl.

Daniel Rayner pleaded guilty to two sexual offences charges involving an adult man acting as a decoy posing as a 14-year-old girl last year.

Between May 19 and 24, 2023 the 37-year-old caused someone he believed to be a child under 16 to look at a sexual image of his private parts in an aroused state.

He further sent sexual written communications of an indecent and explicit nature for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming a person he believed to be a child under the age of 16.

The Crown accepted a not guilty plea to an allegation that he breached bail conditions requiring him to avoid all contact with children, having allegedly attempted to get the attention of four girls under the age of 16 by repeatedly whistling at them, shouting at them, waving at them and beckoning to them.

This allegedly had happened a month after being released on bail at Campbell Street, Lochnell Street, Union Street and Manse Brae, all Lochgilphead.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard on October 1 how a member of an online group had set up a fake profile stating: "Hi, I'm Charlotte and I'm 14."

Rayner, listed in court papers as a resident of Campbell Street, Lochgilphead, sent a message to the decoy as well as a Facebook friend request.

Messages he sent included one of his face and requests for photos of the 'girl' in the shower.

He repeatedly sent messages and also tried to call the decoy, calls which weren't answered.

Rayner sent an explicit picture, repeatedly "pestered" her and made references to her being at school.

Messages included: "So what are you interested in sex-wise?" and "I bet you look good naked".

The information was passed to an online group, the members of which turned up at Rayner's front door in Buchanan Road, Helensburgh.

They asked him to step outside and confronted him with his messages.

"He immediately admitted sending an image and said he thought she was 16," the court heard.

Police attended and the man was found surrounded by members of the group.

When taken to Clydebank police office, Rayner "spoke freely and made admissions", again repeating that he thought the girl was 16.

Officers also seized a tablet and phone, but they were locked and could not be accessed.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry said: "So there's an unanswered question about what may or may not be on those devices?"

The Crown said their information was simply that the locks could not be circumvented.

The sheriff called for reports on Rayner and deferred sentence until next month.

He told him: "You pleaded guilty to a very serious offence. I need to know as much as possible."

Rayner was put on the sex offenders register in the interim.