A pervert who chatted sexually with a girl he believed was 13 and was snared in a shopping centre avoided jail on Monday.

Jonathan Kimmet, 46, was stopped by a vigilante group who live streamed the capture in Glasgow's Drumchapel.

Kimmet had been in communication with an adult posing as a child decoy between July and October 2022.

Kimmet send intimate pictures of himself and asked if she wanted to "chat naughty."

He pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to sending written sexual communication to an adult pretending to be a child.

Kimmet, of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, also admitted attempting to cause a child to view a sexual image.

Sheriff Owen Mullan ordered Kimmet to do 180 hours unpaid work.

He was also put under supervision and the sex offenders register for two years.

The sheriff told Kimmet that the offences were "appalling."

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The court heard that a volunteer from the ASA Scotland vigilante group spoke with Kimmet on the Tagged dating app.

The decoy told Kimmet - using the name Jimmy J - that she was 13-years-old and he swapped pictures with her.

Prosecutor Emma Baker said: "He asked if she had a boyfriend, what she was wearing and if she slept without pyjamas on."

He also asked her if she wanted to "chat naughty" with him.

The conversation carried on to WhatsApp where Kimmet sent of an intimate picture of himself.

The matter was reported to other decoys.

Miss Baker said: "Kimmet was confronted in Drumchapel Shopping Centre and it was live streamed.

"A crowd began to gather and the police attended."