An East Kilbride man has been found guilty of offering a teenage girl cash in exchange for sexual favours. Andrew Cunningham, 36, bombarded the schoolgirl with texts and even suggested booking a hotel room for them, with lewd messages indicating he was willing to pay her £100 a week for sexual services. Despite denying the charges of communicating indecently with a child and offering cash for sexual services, Cunningham was convicted on both counts at Hamilton Sheriff Court this week and has been placed on the sex offenders’ register. The offences took place in 2023.
During the trial, jurors heard that Cunningham claimed to have left his phone in a pub, which led to several days of delay before he retrieved it. He attempted to shift the blame to three friends he was with at the pub, suggesting any one of them could have sent the inappropriate messages to the girl. Despite his denials, evidence showed that Cunningham met the girl and two of her friends outside the pub, after which she received 196 texts and 13 phone calls from him. The messages included offers of alcohol and propositions for sexual activity, with Cunningham stating, ‘You help me and I’ll help you’ and ‘No one has to know. I’ll give you a lot of money if you come up to my gaff once a week’.
The teenage girl did not respond to Cunningham’s advances towards sexual activity and when he mentioned booking a hotel room, she declined, saying ‘We won’t be able to go because our maws are wanting us home’. During his testimony, Cunningham rejected the prosecutor’s accusation that he was grooming the girl for sex, stating he had not sent any of the messages. However, the prosecutor pointed out that he had been identified on a Facetime call with the girl.
Following the jury’s verdict, Sheriff Louise Gallacher has deferred Cunningham’s sentencing until the following month for background reports. Cunningham’s actions have sparked concern and raised awareness on the importance of protecting young individuals from exploitation and predatory behaviour. It serves as a reminder of the need for vigilance and preventive measures to safeguard vulnerable members of society.