Christopher Thomson sentenced for online sexual crimes

Police Scotland acknowledges the sentence of 23 months given to 26-year-old Christopher Thomson  at  Dundee Sheriff  Court today (Thursday 10 December, 2020) for charges including possession of indecent images and the extortion of a 14-year-old girl, causing her participate in a sexual act between June and November 2014.

Detective Sergeant Mark Wilson of the Criminal Investigation Department Online Sexual Crime Team in Tayside said :

“Thomson is a callous individual who actively pursued and preyed upon a 14-year-old girl from Texas, USA to cultivate an online relationship. Having obtained the trust of his victim, he would seek and obtain indecent images of her before urging her to harm herself and commit suicide.

“He threatened the victim by telling them he would let her friends and family know what she had done.  He uploaded an image to a YouTube account and sent the link to the victim's sister.

“Her family reported him to United States Department of Homeland Security and joint investigation was undertaken with Police Scotland.

“His evil behaviour was premeditated and implemented with precision and planning after hacking into her online account.

“Thomson showed absolutely no empathy towards victim, after bombarding her with abusive and threatening messages over the course of several months.

“The impact of Thomson’s behaviour on this young girl is significant and cannot be underestimated. I commend her bravery throughout this ordeal and I hope that now he has been jailed it brings some reassurance that he cannot cause further harm due to his deviant behaviour.

“We worked alongside a range of partner agencies including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, along with Homeland Security, US Department of Justice and the US Embassy to bring Thomson justice.”

 For further advice on internet safety, and keeping safe online, please visit our website –

 http://www.scotland.police.uk/keep-safe/keep-secure-online/