'Pen pal' sent girls indecent letters

Burns appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court

A 29-year-old man sent indecent letters to young girls after pretending to be a 12-year-old seeking a pen pal, a court has heard.

Alexander Burns placed an advert in a children's magazine under the name Tanya Burns.

He received a handful of replies from girls as young as 10 - then wrote back asking them to send him pictures.

You abused the trust of these young girls and caused them considerable distress and upset

Sheriff Kathrine Mackie

Burns was jailed for a year when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

Sheriff Kathrine Mackie told him: "You deceived a young girls' magazine into believing you were a genuine reader looking for a pen pal.

"Innocent readers of that magazine trusted the terms of the advert and responded hoping to find someone they could correspond with.

"Instead they received letters containing material of an indecent nature. Fortunately the parents of these girls were vigilant.

"You abused the trust of these young girls and caused them considerable distress and upset.

Supervised release

"I do not know the extent of harm you may have done. There will be grave public concern about this offence."

Burns, of Calder Drive, Edinburgh, will also be placed on a supervised release order for six months after the end of his prison sentence.

He had earlier admitted carrying out a breach of the peace between 3 and 19 May 2000.

Burns admitted committing a breach of the peace

The court heard that Burns had advertised for pen pals in Girl Talk magazine, which is aimed at children aged between seven and 12.

Five school children, aged between 10 and 12, wrote in and their letters were sent on to Burns, who had given the name Tanya Burns.

He wrote back asking the girls if they had boyfriends and telling them to describe their fantasies for him.

He wanted to know what they wore to school and requested pictures of them wearing their gym clothes or swimming costumes.

The girls' shocked parents complained to the magazine and told the girls never to write to "Tanya" again.

Vetting system

When police raided Burns' flat they found a note that one of the children had sent to him.

Fiscal depute Isabel Clark said that the indecent letters sent by Burns had caused alarm to the families.

She said that the magazine had a vetting system which had failed on this occasion.

Staff had contacted the police when they received calls from the parents involved.

Defence agent Philip Templeton said that his client was suffering from depression.