A MAN who sent sexual messages to young girls has been placed on the sex offenders register for five years.

Kristopher Baillie, 33, met his victims through them attending his wife’s equestrian centres in Fife.

He targeted four girls, aged 14 and 15, via social media over a period of more than three years.

His messages included explicit sexual comments about what he wanted to do to them and references to him being “horny”.

The girls only knew him from their horse-riding activities at his wife’s business but became Facebook friends with him which led to the unwanted sexual conversations.

In October last year, a young girl said to him during a Facebook conversation: “Remember I’m 14.”

He asked her to delete the messages he had sent her after she told him she was unhappy about them.

He begged her not to tell anyone but she informed an adult, who contacted the police and their investigations led to the other offences being uncovered.

Baillie, who works as a mechanic with a motorsport team, previously admitted that between January 1 and July 2, 2014, he intentionally and for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming the 15-year-old victim, repeatedly sent social media messages to her and repeatedly sent sexual comments to her, engaged or attempted to engage her in sexual conversation and made sexual remarks to her.

He admitted that between July 15-23, 2014, he committed the same offence with a girl who was then aged 15.

Baillie also admitted that between July 1 and December 31, 2015, he committed the same offence against a third girl.

He further admitted that between October 21-23 this year, he committed the same offence against a 14-year-old girl.

In a previous court appearance, depute fiscal Azrah Yousaf said that Baillie resided with his wife, who has been with him for seven years, and in 2012 she opened a horse-riding business at Shawsmill House, near Cardenden.

The business has now moved to Barkeldy Equestrian, near Kelty. Baillie usually lives there but is currently staying at his father’s home at Springfield Park, Kinross.

When sentenced on Tuesday, Baillie was also ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work and will also be under supervision for three years.