A nursing studies graduate who plotted to rape a family has been locked up for his own safety.
NHS health care support worker Kevin Flaherty sought out twisted families online who would let him sexually assault their children.
Depraved Flaherty, 47, held more than 3,000 chats online to share his sick child abuse fantasies with other paedophiles.
He sent naked pictures of himself to one online user and asked him to show them to his children before he arrived to abuse them in person.
When he was asked "are you willing to be forceful if they resist at first?" the vile health care worker replied "yeah, babe."
Full horrifying details of the conversations Flaherty had were replayed at Perth Sheriff Court after he admitted a series of offences over more than four years.
The court was told that Flaherty was a prolific online presence and had trawled more than 40 chat groups looking for like-minded abusers.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostolova told the court: "On 6 January 2022 police arrived with a search warrant. A search was carried out and an iPhone was found to contain indecent images of children."
She said he was found to have started downloading photos and videos of child abuse in 2017 and distributed a number of images by Kik messenger during 2021. One image showed a nine-year-old boy being raped, while another showed a near-naked girl with her hands tied behind her back and her mouth covered with duct tape.
"He was an active member of over 40 Kik chat groups. It could be seen from the logs he utilised the groups to seek out like-minded individuals. There were 3,468 Kik chat logs, predominantly of a sexual nature, and he asks people if they have children or would like to adopt children with him.
"He states his desire for a paedophile family or if anyone wants a paedophile husband. He had 95 WhatsApp chat logs, and six contained similar content."
In December 2021, he engaged in vile chats with someone he called his "paedophile boyfriend" and promised to visit his family to sexually abuse his children.
When the other person said the children had been told they were going to do something "for a film or a game" he replied: "It sort of is - lol."
After being told one of the children involved was seven years old, Flaherty said: "I want to piss on you and your kids."
An undercover police officer engaged in chats with the accused for a month while posing as a 37-year-old paedophile father-of-three.
"The accused took a keen interest in this and expressed his own desire to be sexually active with the children. He sent pictures of his face, upper body and penis and asked for photos of the kids."
Flaherty described sex acts he planned to do to the children and said: "I would love to do it for real. I want to have all your kids. I would like to f**k their brains out. I would like to see you and your wife after. I want to have kids so badly. I will f**k them every chance I get. I am well up for it."
Flaherty, from Perth, admitted downloading indecent images between 10 October 2017 and 21 December 2021, and having them until 6 January 2022.
He admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner by discussing child sex abuse online and by discussing arrangements to meet to abuse children between 13 October and 30 November 2021. And he admitted distributing child porn between 30 November and 12 December 2021.
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: "No doubt custody is uppermost in the court's mind. He has been very anxious and extremely worried. He appreciates it is his own folly, but he almost doesn't recognise himself."
Flaherty, who describes himself online as a "general sci-fi geek and politics nerd", was remanded in custody pending background reports by Sheriff William Wood.
Sheriff Wood said: "Clearly, these matters are very serious and disturbing. I have some concerns for your continuing safety if you remain at liberty. This was despicable conduct."
Flaherty studied the Diploma of Higher Education in Nursing Studies at Edge Hill University in 2012, according to his online biography.
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