A VILE paedophile who blackmailed schoolgirls into sending sexually explicit pictures and videos has been jailed for three years.

Sean McCuaig, 22, targeted nine girls – aged between 12 and 17 – on social media using a string of fake profiles.

As reported by the Evening Times previously, the pervert would send the girls fake nude photos with their faces superimposed on them and then demand that they send the real deal or else he would post the fakes onto their Facebook pages for all to see. On one occasion he carried out his threat. He also threatened to harm some of his victims' families if they didn't send him snaps.

When eventually arrested, police recovered a document in which McCuaig detailed fantasies of abducting, raping, humiliating and killing one of the girls.

The accused, from Keal Avenue in Knightswood, pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to 20 charges spanning from January 2016 to June 2017.

They included causing the girls to look at nude images with their faces superimposed on them, threatening to post and posting pictures if they didn’t send sexual images.

He also pleaded guilty to downloading, distributing and having explicit pornographic images depicting women being raped.

Read more: Investigation into paedophile Sean McCuaig is not over

McCuaig had a total of 2,653 indecent images of children – some as young as five-years-old – and 65 videos ranging to the most serious category.

The court heard the police investigation started in March 2017 when one of the young victims contacted the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to report being blackmailed.

Procurator fiscal depute Kathleen O’Donnell said: “During the full cyber crime examination of his computer equipment, a number of files were found.

“One file in particular titled ‘fakenudes’ which contained a range of full body and facial images relating to a number of females.

“These images have been edited or obtained for the purpose of editing.”

McCauig set up a number of Facebook profiles including several in the name of Cara Smith, Cara Clark and Cara Rodgers, as well as Toby Greenhill and Philip Greenhill.

A document was also found relating to one of his victims, a 14-year-old who was sent a picture of a nude female with her face superimposed on from someone claiming to be a girl.

The female threatened to post the fake picture online if the teenager didn’t send an indecent picture, but no pictures were sent.

Miss O’Donnell said: “A document was located whereby he fantasises about abducting, sexually degrading and humiliating the witness and mentions killing her if she was to see his face, however, in brackets said he would not kill her but ‘she wouldn’t know that’.

“Also located was a naked image within a file named ‘fakenudes’ which was titled with her name and showed her face superimposed on to a naked body.”

A 15-year-old was also sent a fake picture with her face on it, and “begged” McCuaig not to share it for fear or of being bullied.

Callous McCuaig told her to send a picture or he would post the picture and started a countdown.

She sent him a picture of her bare legs and selfies, including one of her looking upset.

Read more: Paedophile Sean McCuaig faces jail for blackmailing schoolgirls into sending pictures and videos

Miss O’Donnell said: “The complainer pleaded with the male to stop doing this and stated at one point ‘please stop doing this, I will honestly kill myself if you post that pic'.”

She repeatedly begged him to stop and eventually confided in a teacher at school.

McCuaig also targeted a 12-year-old and told her to “stop telling lies” when she said the naked picture he had doctored was not her.

He said: “If you don’t admit it’s you, I’m going to upload it on Facebook,” before he blocked her.

The court heard family members later text her to ask about a Facebook post and she saw that McCuaig posted the picture and wrote: “She’s exposed now, she sends dirty nudes to everybody."

Miss O’Donnell said: “The complainer discovered people in her school had also seen the picture on Facebook and this resulted in her falling out with quite a few people.”

Sick McCuaig threatened a 14-year-old that he would do things to her family if she didn’t send him pictures of herself and showed her a photo with her head photoshopped on it.

The schoolgirl sent him pictures and told him to leave her alone, but after a couple of weeks he messaged her again and menaced: “I’m not done yet."

Videos of the girl were found on his computer that showed her as “hesitant, uncomfortable and awkward”.

McCuaig was questioned in October last year about the offence and “spoke freely”.

He was asked about the document about his fantasies and confirmed he was the person who wrote it.

The court heard it included the line: “I never want to do this but I am very scared I might succumb to these thoughts."

Returning to court for sentencing today, defence agent Craig Grimes highlighted "three main factors": McCuaig's age, the fact he had not offended before, and his full and frank admissions to police when finally caught.

Mr Grimes claimed that his client "really didn't have much social interaction" growing up and had watched porn since he was 10-years-old.

He said McCuaig knew he was going to be jailed and had “not shirked from that”.

Mr Grimes said: "He is someone who has accepted his guilt."

The court also heard that while awaiting sentencing, another prisoner wrote to McCuaig after reading his story in the paper and suggested: "If you want, let's get together and do these things."

McCuaig was said to be horrified and reported the correspondence to the authorities.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Johanna Johnston QC told the accused: "This case involved you targeting young vulnerable girls on the internet over a lengthy period and persisting in a pattern of criminal behaviour.

“You menaced and frightened these girls and used their images for your own sexual gratification.”

McCuaig was jailed for three years with three further years on licence when he is eventually released into the community. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.