Schoolboy, 16, pestered by Derek Mackay fears MORE teens may have been targeted – as mum slams ‘grooming’
THE schoolboy pestered by Derek Mackay fears more teens may have been targeted – as his mum slams the disgraced politician for “grooming”. In a scandal that has rocked the Scottish Parliament, a 16-year-old boy came forward about 270 online messages he had been bombarded with. The former Finance Secretary, who resigned yesterday, called him […]
THE schoolboy pestered by Derek Mackay fears more teens may have been targeted – as his mum slams the disgraced politician for “grooming”.
In a scandal that has rocked the Scottish Parliament, a 16-year-old boy came forward about 270 online messages he had been bombarded with.
The former Finance Secretary, who resigned yesterday, called him “cute” and repeatedly messaged him over six months on Instagram and Facebook.
The youngster has since revealed how he fears the 42-year-old may have messaged other teenagers.
He said: “Obviously I don’t know if he has been messaging any other people.
“But I can’t help wondering if he has contacted other people my age or even younger.”
The openly-gay dad of two — who came out in 2013 when leaving his wife — liked snaps of the rugger-mad youngster in his sports gear and even pinged direct messages to him on Christmas Day.
The boy’s mum said: “I think it looks like grooming.
“I don’t see how he could just continue as normal — and I don’t think it would be acceptable for him to go to schools and attend events with children like my son.”
Mr Mackay issued a grovelling apology and quit his frontline role just hours before he was due to deliver his Budget speech in the Scottish Parliament.
DEREK MACKAY TEXT SCANDAL
The Scottish Sun exclusively revealed:
- SNP Finance Secretary Derek Mackay bombarded schoolboy, 16, with creepy texts and called him ‘cute’ despite knowing his age
- The teen was “grossed out” by Mackay’s compliments and worried when urged to keep the chats secret
- He felt forced to make up lies to avoid a face-to-face encounter with the powerful MSP who was tipped as the next First Minister
- A leading child abuse expert warned the messages ‘should be probed by cops’ and may show ‘patterns’ of inappropriate behaviour
- Read the entire six months’ worth of private Facebook and Instagram posts here.
In parliament, Scottish Tory interim leader Jackson Carlaw suggested the behaviour amounted to “grooming”.
His boy’s furious mum has called for Nicola Sturgeon to sack the cabinet minister, while a leading abuse expert said police should investigate.
She said: “A man like that is not supposed to say these sort of things to a boy.”
The 37-year-old only learned of the creepy exchanges last week, and told of her horror at seeing Mr Mackay appearing to flirt with her son.
She said: “If I could speak to him, I would ask him ‘Why? Why did you do this?’
“I worry about what would have happened if my son had sent him back a message he wanted to hear.
“You can see he tries again and again — like he is trying to get my son to change his mind about something. He is trying to see how much he can push it.”
The pair are willing to cooperate with Police Scotland and share any information that could help with a potential probe.
‘HE TRIES AGAIN AND AGAIN’
The mother said: “If they wanted to speak to us that would be fine. If that would be helpful, that’s no problem.
“My son ended the chat with him but you don’t know of other young people he may have contacted.
“I scrolled through the people he follows on Instagram and there seem to be a lot of young people.
“Maybe there are others sitting at home who are afraid and don’t want to speak about it.
“Now my son has spoken out, maybe that will help other young people to do so.”
At First Minister’s Questions, the SNP boss told how she was not aware of the revelations about her Cabinet minister until The Scottish Sun informed her office on Wednesday evening.
And she said she was still in the dark as to the boy’s identity.
Tory interim leader Mr Carlaw asked what contact her party or office had made with the teen or his family and what “support” has been offered, amid concerns for the youngster’s welfare.
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The First Minister said: “Of course there is the issue, which is raised by these particular allegations and what is published in the newspaper this morning, of the welfare of a 16-year-old boy.
“I am not aware of the identity or contact details of the family.
“If the family or the individual concerned wanted to speak to me, I would of course be happy to speak to them. That is my position.”
Derek Mackay pestered the teen with hundreds of messages
