A 31-year-old man from Dundonald has been spared prison after admitting that he sent sexual messages and an image of his genitals to an undercover police officer he believed was a 14-year-old boy.
Connor Hendren appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to intentionally attempting to send a written sexual message to a male he thought was a young teenager called Max. The court heard that the online contact took place through Snapchat.
Hendren admitted discussing the supposed boy’s private parts, masturbation and sexual acts. The charge stated that the communications were made for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification or humiliating, distressing or alarming the recipient.
He also attempted to make the person view a sexual image by sending a picture of his private parts. The contact was linked to Hendren’s address on Kilmarnock Road, Dundonald, and took place between February 3 and February 13, 2023.
Police search found indecent images
The court heard that Hendren also possessed indecent images of children at his home. That charge covered the period from February 16 to October 12, 2023.
Hendren had previously pleaded not guilty during a brief pre-trial hearing last year, before changing solicitors ahead of a scheduled jury trial. He later returned to court and changed his plea to guilty.
A search warrant was granted on October 10, 2025. Police attended the Dundonald address and seized an iPhone for examination. Officers noticed that an email address on the device matched one received by the undercover officer on Snapchat.
A cybercrime examination found child sexual exploitation abuse images in categories A, B and C. The court was told that 11 category A images were accessible, three category B images were non-accessible and one category C image was found.
In total, the investigation identified 15 moving images containing male children aged between eight and 16.
Community sentence imposed at Ayr Sheriff Court
The Crown asked the sheriff to impose a further sexual harm prevention order. When Hendren returned for sentencing, Sheriff Siobhan Connelly imposed a community payback order as a direct alternative to imprisonment.
Hendren must remain under social work supervision for three years and complete 300 hours of unpaid work. He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for three years and made subject to a further sexual harm prevention order.
A conduct requirement means he must take part in the Moving Forward, Making Changes programme, which is designed to address the behaviour of people who sexually offend against children.
The case was heard at Ayr Sheriff Court and concerns conduct connected to an address on Kilmarnock Road in Dundonald. No further steps or appeal were stated in the supplied court report.
