A drag queen who co-authored a guide for “trans youth” for a Scottish LGBT charity has been convicted of distributing child pornography.
Andrew Easton, from Kennethmont, Huntly, was snared by cybercrime officers over internet chat logs with someone he believed to be a vulnerable 13-year-old he called “baby boy”. Easton, who was convicted at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last week, co-wrote the guide for charity LGBT Youth Scotland, which receives millions of pounds from the Scottish Government and local authorities.
Cybercrime officers discovered 32 video files, many of which were of the most serious category A and featuring children aged between four and eight years old, had been distributed to other pedophiles by Easton.
He was spared an immediate prison sentence despite knowingly communicating online with a 13-year-old boy and asking him for indecent images.
Easton, 39, pleaded guilty in court this month to communicating online with someone he believed to be a child, downloading indecent images of children, and distributing indecent images of children. The sexual abuse materials, which included images and videos, featured newborn babies, toddlers, and prepubescent children. Easton was first caught by one of Scotland’s National Online Child Abuse Prevention (NOCAP) units in a September 2023 sting that identified his IP number. Police then obtained a search warrant and raided Easton’s home.
In a Telegram chat labeled “Extra Excitement,” Easton hoarded 132 images and 1,119 videos with newborn infants and children up to age 10.
Police found that Easton also had a chat log with a user claiming to be 13 years old; Easton referred to this user as “baby boy,” and sent him photos of his genitals.
He also requested the user call him “daddy.”
In court on August 13, Easton did not deny that he had downloaded and shared child pornography.
While news of Easton’s conviction first broke on August 13, interest in his case has been renewed after it was revealed by journalist Marion Scott that Easton had previously worked with LGBT Youth Scotland. The charity was exposed by Reduxx in 2022 for participating in the alleged grooming and sexual exploitation of two minor boys who had been accessing their services.
Easton co-authored the charity’s “coming out guide” for “trans young people” which was distributed to public schools across the country. The guide, which heavily promotes LGBT Youth Scotland services, “looks at the various stages of the coming out process” in a youth-accessible tone, presenting different scenarios and considerations for minors interested in changing their gender identity.
