A paedophile said he has brought shame on his family after admitting sexually abusing a young girl on Skype.
Nathan Fennell, 26, appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday over the abuse, which happened between January and November 2013 at an address in the city.
Fennell had begun an online relationship with a woman and asked her to take indecent photographs of her younger sister, as well as take videos of herself touching the child sexually.
Fennell, who also induced the girl to remove her clothing in a video call, pled guilty to causing the child to participate in sexual activity.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin deferred sentence on Fennell, whose address was given in court papers as Eden Grove, Whitley, until next month for reports.
She also made him subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.
Speaking to the Evening Express outside court, Fennell said: “I am very sorry and I regret what I’ve done and I’ve brought shame on my family.”
Asked about the impact of his actions on the little girl, he replied: “I deeply regret if it has affected her very badly.
“I wish I could change it.”
He added he “wasn’t in the right frame of mind at the time”, was suffering from depression and there were other health problems in his family.
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During the court hearing, fiscal depute Sally McAuley told the court the woman had been dealt with separately and jailed for two years over the matter.
Another man was also jailed for three years previously in relation to the same matter.
Ms McAuley told the court the offence came to light when the victim’s brother told their mother the woman had taken naked pictures of the girl and put them online.
When the girl was interviewed by police she said the woman had asked her on a number of occasions to “strip naked in front of a laptop while two men were watching on Skype”.
Ms McAuley said: “Messages showed the accused was aware of her age at the time of the offence.
“In one message the accused stated he wanted to see the complainer naked and asked the woman to take photos of her.”
On another occasion he “wanted to see the complainer in her underwear”.
Ms McAuley said the girl had been “badly affected by the abuse” as she grew up.
Defence agent Iain Hingston reserved mitigation for the sentencing.
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