A former swim coach in Aberdeen, Scotland has been sentenced for sending a sexually-implicit image to a child.
Joel Valentine, 27, was sentenced on Friday to 200 hours of unpaid work by Sheriff Morag McLaughlin after he was found to have sent an image of his private parts to a 15-year-old boy.
Unpaid work in Scotland is essentially the equivalent of community service in the United States.
Valentine sent the picture to the boy, whom he knew through swimming, in November 2023. The former owner of Aberdeen Swimming Academy, Valentine sent the image on Snapchat after the boy inquired if he was going to win the school’s “assistant of the year” prize, according to The Press and Journal, a Scottish newspaper.
In a July court hearing, fiscal depute Stephanie Cardow (a fiscal depute in Scotland is responsible for prosecuting criminal cases) said Valentine struck up a conversation with the boy on November 5, 2023.
After the boy asked Valentine about the prize at the school, Valentine replied and ordered the boy to carry out a sex act while forwarding a picture of his private parts.
The boy responded to Valentine, “You’re an actual weirdo.”
In another reply, Valentine messaged the boy asking “You gay? You gay?”
The boy then blocked Valentine on Snapchat before he was sent another message on Instagram. The boy then reported the incident to authorities. Initially, Valentine claimed the picture was a “stock image” sent by another party.
Valentine’s legal counsel, defense solicitor Jenny Logan, said the act was born through alcohol misuse and that Valentine has began attending counseling sessions to deal with alcohol and mental health issues.
Valentine will have one year to complete the unpaid hours of work. He will also be under the supervision of social workers for the next 18 months and be subject to sexual offenders notification requirements.
That sentence is a crime in itself.
Yeah, I assume they meant explicit?
I actually meant the slap on the wrist sentence but yeah that too.
He should be made to work at the Trump International Scotland golf club. He’ll be a great fit there.
Props to the kid for sticking his ground, not to say that should be expected behavior but it takes guts to tell an adult to back off like that.
And yeah, that guy is a weirdo to say the least. The fact he got off with 200 hours is a little mind-boggling.