An Edinburgh paedophile who arranged to meet up with a youngster for sex at Haymarket train station was arrested after being set-up by group Wolf Pack Hunters.


An Edinburgh paedophile who arranged to meet up with a youngster for sex at Haymarket train station was arrested after being set-up by group Wolf Pack Hunters.

Mickael Meoni contacted two social media accounts who he believed were being operated by teenagers before sending them filthy sexual messages.

The 41-year-old then arranged to meet up with a girl at the train station, but when he arrived he was confronted by members of the online vigilante group.

The perv, from Fountainbridge, was then apprehended and the police were called in to deal with the situation.

Meoni pleaded guilty to two charges of arranging to meet two youngsters with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with them when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today.

Prosecutor Sophie Hanlon told the court a social media account belonging to a 13-year-old boy called Thomas from Glasgow was set up by the Wolf Pack Hunters in December 2017.

Ms Hanlon said a profile named ‘Miki’ then contacted the fake account on December 12 and Meoni soon began sending “sexual messages to the adult posing as a child”.

The fiscal added Meoni made arrangements to meet up with ‘Thomas’ on two occasions but cancelled both dates at the last minute.

The pervert then contacted a second bogus online account who he believed belonged to a 14-year-old girl the following month and again sent sexual messages to her.

Ms Hanlon said during the chats Meoni admitted being 39-years-old at the time and the adult operating the child’s account stated she was just aged 14.

Meoni made arrangements to meet up with the ‘schoolgirl’ on January 14 last year but when he arrived at the railway station he found he was part of a sting operation that was being live streamed on Facebook.

British Transport Police officers were called in to deal with Meoni and the vigilante group handed over his mobile phone and a record of all the online chat logs he had been involved in.

During a police interview Meoni then admitted he had “been speaking to the young male and female” online but that he had been “stupid” in attempting to arrange meetings.

He told police: “I didn’t do anything to hurt anyone – I am sorry.”

Sheriff Donald Corke placed Meoni on the register for a term still to be decided and deferred full sentence to next month for the preparation of reports.

Meoni admitted attempting to meet with an adult posing as a 13-year-old boy with the intention of engaging in sexual activity at his home address and elsewhere between December 10, 2017 and January 5 last year.

He also pleaded guilty to attempting to meet with an adult posing as a 14-year-old girl with the intention of engaging in sexual activity at his home address and elsewhere between January 11 and 13 last year.