A 31-year-old man from Edinburgh has been jailed following an intelligence led operation into online child abuse.

Iain Hunter pled guilty to indecently communicating with a child and was sentenced to an Order of Lifelong restriction alongside a 20 month custodial sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh today.

Detective Inspector Mike Smith, of Edinburgh’s Public Protection Unit, said: “Iain Hunter is a dangerous and predatory individual and we welcome his conviction and sentencing for his despicable actions.”

“Online offenders may think they are anonymous, and they may not comprehend the terrible, devastating and lifelong impact their actions have on children. But there is no excuse for their actions.

“Police Scotland’s current #GetHelpOrGetCaught campaign proactively targets those who are either already offending or at risk of offending online, and provides signposts to available support

“Police Scotland is committed to the protection of children and to bringing all perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice. We would urge anyone who wishes to report any child protection concerns or sexual crime to contact us on 101 so we can conduct a thorough investigation.”

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John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.