Ex-soldier Ian Horner posed as teenage girl to send child abuse video clips

An ex-soldier is facing a possible jail term after he admitted posing as a teenage girl to send mobile phone videos of children being sexually abused.

Ian Horner, 60, pretended he was a 14-year-old girl named Niki and sent vile text messages to a known sex offender in England offering him the video clips.

He sent a 13 second-long video clip of a girl aged between 12 and 14 being sexually assaulted by a man.

When officers searched Horner's home they found four more video clips of girls aged between five and eight being raped.

He pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today to possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children.

The court was told unemployed Horner, of Hazelwood Grove, Edinburgh, who joined the Army for 12 years in 1971, was living in supported accommodation for ex-servicemen at the time of the offences but was now living in a hostel.

Fiscal depute Dev Kapadia said Mr Hewitt had been placed on the sex offenders' register after been convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

He had been ordered not to use the internet but Cheshire Police found out he was using his mobile phone to go online.

He was arrested and his phone and SIM card seized, and the 12-second video was found.

Mr Kapadia said the video showed level four abuse ? the highest is five.
Forensic experts traced the sender to Horner's home in Buckhaven and police searched his address last March.

Horner admitted to police he had used the name Niki and pretended to be a 14-year-old girl when sending texts to Mr Hewitt.

He initially admitted knowing she was underage but later claimed he believed she was "borderline".

He has been placed on the sex offenders' register and is due to return to court in March to be sentenced.

Edinburgh Evening News