August 2023

Nurse who sent sexually explicit texts to ’14-year-old girl’ struck off

A nurse in Moray who was convicted of “communicating indecently with an older child” has been struck off the register.

George Arroll Inness was referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on September 17 last year, by an anonymous source and also by NHS Grampian.

The watchdog said that it was provided with screenshots of an article in the press, about a sting operation by a group titled the “Paedophile Hunters” based in Scotland.

This group had created a decoy profile, which pretended to be a 14-year-old girl, which Inness had sent sexual messages and indecent images to.

Messages by Inness, between June 5 and 23, included asking the decoy if she wore a school uniform; telling her he was “jealous” because he was “not wrapped around her” when she came out of the shower; and asking if she was going to go “topless” while on holiday with her parents.

In other messages, he asked about her underwear, if she ever “thought about sex”, stated that he wanted to see her naked and that they could do “anything she wanted”.

Innes sent a number of images to the decoy including images of his genitals, himself in his underwear and a scar from his hernia operation.

Upon being confronted at his home by the “Paedophile Hunters”, Inness replied: “Yeah I shouldn’t have done it, I am sorry.”

He then said he needed a drink of water and left the front door open, before returning with a knife pointed at his chest.

Inness is said to have been moving it in a stabbing motion – the group intervened and removed the knife, fearing he would harm himself.

The police were called and he was arrested, the NMC said.

George Arroll Inness was found guilty under sections 33 & 34(1) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 at Inverness Sheriff Court on October 25 last year.

In an August 2023 hearing, the NMC found that Inness’ fitness to practise was impaired as a result of his conduct and conviction.

It said: “Mr Innes’ actions were significant departures from the standards expected of a registered nurse and are fundamentally incompatible with him remaining on the register.

“The panel was of the view that the findings in this particular case demonstrate that Mr Innes’ actions were serious and to allow him to continue practising would undermine public confidence in the profession and in the NMC as a regulatory body.”

As a result, he has been struck off the register effective August 2023

October 2022

Man snared by paedophile hunters held knife to chest during live Facebook sting

A man who was snared by paedophile hunters held a knife to his chest during a doorstep confrontation broadcast live on Facebook.

In footage that has been viewed more than 20,000 times, Lossiemouth sex offender George Innes clutches a kitchen knife to his body and can be heard saying “my life is not worth living”.

The sting took place after Innes, 57, sent sexual messages and indecent images to a decoy profile that he believed was a 14-year-old girl called Savannah.

Innes has now appeared via videolink from custody at Inverness Sheriff Court and admitted a single charge of attempting to cause an older child to view a sexual image and attempting to communicate indecently with an older child.

Fiscal depute Pauline Gair told the court that, on June 5 of this year, a member of the English paedophile hunting group Elite Predator Interceptors set up a decoy profile claiming to be a 14-year-old girl on an app called Rando Chat.

“That same day the accused initiated a conversation,” she said.

The decoy told Innes that she was just 14, after which he sent her a picture of his face and the pair began talking over WhatsApp.

For the next 18 days, Innes and ‘Savannah’ exchanged messages on a daily basis, with the chat soon becoming inappropriate and sexualised.

Innes asked the decoy if she wore school uniform and whether she was going topless on holiday. He also repeatedly talked about her pyjamas and whether she was wearing any underwear.

The chat log also featured personal questions, including: “Do you mind chatting about sex?”, “What bra size are you?” and “Do you ever look at yourself naked in the mirror?”

Innes said they could “do anything you wanted” and suggested they might “cuddle” or “touch”.

Innes also sent ‘Savannah’ a total of 14 images over WhatsApp, which include images of his private parts, a picture of himself in underwear and a scar from a hernia operation, the court heard.

Logs of the chats were passed to the Scotland-based Wolfpack Hunter group, which travelled to Innes’ home in Lossiemouth to confront him.

When they explained why they were there, he replied: “Yeah, I shouldn’t have done it. I am sorry too.”

He also remarked that he had “ruined his life,” Mrs Gair said.

She said that Innes then went to his kitchen and when he returned to the front door he was holding a knife towards his chest.

“Due to having concerns the accused would harm himself the group removed the knife from him,” she added.

Police were contacted and Innes made “full admissions” during his interview.

Sheriff Sara Matheson called for pre-sentencing reports and placed Innes on the sex offenders’ register with immediate effect.

Innes’ solicitor Stephen Carty reserved his remarks in mitigation for sentencing, which will take place next month.