Craig Ware

Sources

1. Church leader sent indecent messages to vigilante who was posing as children, BBC, August 3, 2026.
2. Peterhead man accused of indecent communications with a child appears in court , The Red Rose Database, September 1, 2025.
3. Father and church-goer sought intimate images of 'girls' to 'escape stress', The Press and Journal, August 3, 2026.
4. Father and church-goer sought intimate images of ‘girls’ to ‘escape stress’, Press Reader, August 5, 2026.

• 1. Church leader sent indecent messages to vigilante who was posing as children

  • 20260803
  • News article
  • BBC

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  An Aberdeenshire church leader was caught sending indecent messages to a vigilante who had been posing as children, a court has heard.

  Craig Ware, 41, admitted two offences of attempting to communicate indecently with children in Peterhead in 2024 and 2025. He thought one was a girl aged 13, and that the other was 14.

  At Peterhead Sheriff Court, the first offender was given 300 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.

  Ware had been involved with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mintlaw.

  However, the church told BBC Scotland News this was no longer the case following his arrest.

  At the time of the offences it is understood Ware was serving as a counsellor - a volunteer leadership role that supports with overseeing the local congregation.

  Ware, now of Inverness, admitted sending sexual written communications to an adult woman pretending to be a 14-year-old girl.

  The incident happened between August 2024 and January 2025, in the Clerkhill area of Peterhead, and at Keycraft, at the Aberdeenshire town's Blackhouse Industrial Estate.

  The other offence, between February and July 2025, involved the same adult, who he believed was a girl aged 13.

  The court had previously heard the communications were with a member of an online child protection group which tries to identify people seeking out children on the internet.

  The exchanges were later passed to the police, leading to Ware's arrest.

  George Hilton-Rhind, defending, said Ware felt "disgusted" by his actions, and accepted full responsibility for his conduct.

  The solicitor said custody was a possibility, but added that there was alternative option with a community-based disposal.

  "He feels great remorse," he said.

  Sheriff Robert McDonald said there was no question it was a "very serious" matter.

  He said there was a high level of culpability and the potential for serious harm had children under 16 actually been involved.

  However the sheriff said Ware was a first offender, and had pled guilty at an early stage.
  'Serious violation'

  As a direct alternative to custody, he ordered Ware to be supervised for three years, to carry out the maximum of 300 hours of unpaid work, and to take part in the Moving Forward to Change offender programme.

  He was also placed on the sex offenders register for three years.

  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said it "unequivocally" condemned abuse in any form.

  A statement to BBC Scotland News said: "We mourn with victims of abuse and are deeply concerned for all who may have been harmed or placed at risk.

  "After learning of the arrest of local volunteer Craig Ware, we immediately removed him from his assignment. The conviction is a serious violation of both the law and the teachings of the church.

  "Anyone involved in such activity should be subject to the full extent of the law and will face formal ecclesiastical review by local church leaders."

• 2. Peterhead man accused of indecent communications with a child appears in court

  • 20250901
  • News article
  • The Red Rose Database

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  PETERHEAD MAN ACCUSED OF INDECENT COMMUNICATIONS WITH A CHILD APPEARS IN COURT
  A man has appeared at a Peterhead court accused of taking part in sexual communication with a child.

  Craig Ware appeared in private at Peterhead Sheriff Court earlier today.

  The 40-year-old has been charged with three sexual offences.

  Specifically, Ware is accused of intentionally communicating indecently with 'an older child' – defined under law as a child aged between 13 and 16.

  No plea was entered by Ware, whose general address was given as Arbroath.

  He was committed for further examination and granted bail.

  Ware is scheduled to appear again at the same court for a second hearing on a date that is yet to be confirmed.

• 3. Father and church-goer sought intimate images of 'girls' to 'escape stress'

  • 20260803
  • News article
  • The Press and Journal

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  A Peterhead dad and church-goer who tried to get two chil­dren to send him intim­ate images of them­selves was caught out by pae­do­phile hunters.

  Craig Ware, who is also a mem­ber of Mint­law’s Church of Jesus Christ of Lat­ter-Day Saints, thought he was chat­ting to two girls, aged 13 and 14, when he said he wanted to “get naughty”.

  The 41-year-old appeared at Peterhead Sher­iff Court, where he was sen­tenced to two charges of attempt­ing to com­mu­nic­ate inde­cently with chil­dren.

  Ware, who had moved out of the fam­ily’s home in the wake of his con­vic­tion, was stung by pae­do­phile hunters in 2025 and pled guilty earlier this year.

  The court had pre­vi­ously heard how Ware entered into chats with two people he believed to be Sta­cey, aged 14, and a 13-year-old named Chloe.

  It was actu­ally a grown woman who went on to report the pae­do­phile’s attempts to police.

  He had mes­saged “Sta­cey” between August 2024 and Janu­ary of last year.

  The other fake young­ster was mes­saged inap­pro­pri­ately by Ware between Feb­ru­ary and July 2025.

  On each occa­sion, he “repeatedly” reques­ted that they send him inap­pro­pri­ate pic­tures of them­selves and told each he was “sexu­ally aroused”.

  Fiscal depute Gregor For­bes told the court that the pro­files had been cre­ated by a mem­ber of the Dank Dragon group, who “pro­act­ively identify people that seek out chil­dren on the inter­net”.

  Ware first mes­saged one of the accounts on August 9 2024 and told the decoy child he wanted to “get naughty”, adding “I want to see your boobs”.

  Ware would con­tinue to mes­sage the account throughout 2024, telling the child “I’m horny” and ask­ing her to “send a sexy one, and maybe one in your under­wear”.

  When the decoy asked to move the chat to What­s­App, Ware replied he could not in case his wife found out.

  He also would not reveal his full face, telling the girl: “Because I’m mar­ried and I’m ask­ing an under-ager to see her t**s.”

  In Feb­ru­ary 2025, Ware moved on to mes­saging the Chloe account.

  “I’ll be hon­est, Chloe. I’m look­ing to get naughty with someone,” he mes­saged.

  He would go on to prom­ise to give the young­ster his num­ber if she showed him nude pho­to­graphs.

  The decoy account owner repor­ted Ware to her group on July 29 2025 and police were con­tac­ted.

  On Monday, his soli­citor George Hilton-Rhind, said Ware was “ashamed” of his actions.

  Mr Hilton-Rhind said his cli­ent had no pre­vi­ous con­vic­tions and main­tained a good rela­tion­ship with his wife, des­pite his admis­sions.

  He added that Ware has since rejoined his local church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat­ter-Day Saints in Mint­law.

  “He accepts whole­heartedly that he was com­mu­nic­at­ing with per­sons who, at the time, he believed were under the age of 16,” he said.

  “Look­ing back at his decision, he feels dis­gus­ted by his actions.

  “He accep­ted full respons­ib­il­ity for his con­duct. He’s never once sought to blame oth­ers for his actions. And he’s shown some insight into why he believes he com­mit­ted these offences.”

  High­light­ing a pas­sage in a social work report which was not dis­closed to the court at large, Mr Hilton­Rhind said Ware had star­ted using online chat rooms as a way of “escap­ing” from stress and loneli­ness.

  “He’s sought sup­port from his church, which he has rejoined,” Mr Hilton­Rhind added.

  Mr Hilton-Rhind con­cluded: “He under­stands the con­sid­er­able dam­age he’s caused to his fam­ily. He’s hope­ful in time trust can be earned and regained.

  “He’s a man who feels great remorse and shame for his actions.”

  Sen­ten­cing, Sher­iff Robert McDon­ald told Ware that his actions could have caused “ser­i­ous harm” to an actual child.

  “There’s no ques­tion this is a very ser­i­ous mat­ter,” he said.

  “You have a high level of culp­ab­il­ity here and there was the poten­tial for very ser­i­ous harm to the per­sons you were con­tact­ing had they been under the age of 16.”

  As a “dir­ect altern­at­ive to cus­tody”, Ware was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work within the next year. He will also be super­vised and instruc­ted to com­plete the Mov­ing For­ward 2 Change pro­gramme and will be on the sex offend­ers register.

• 4. Father and church-goer sought intimate images of ‘girls’ to ‘escape stress’

  • 20260805
  • News article
  • Press Reader

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  A Peterhead dad and church-goer who tried to get two children to send him intimate images of themselves was caught out by paedophile hunters.

  Craig Ware, who is also a member of Mintlaw’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, thought he was chatting to two girls, aged 13 and 14, when he said he wanted to “get naughty”.

  The 41-year-old appeared at Peterhead Sheriff Court, where he was sentenced to two charges of attempting to communicate indecently with children.

  Ware, who had moved out of the family’s home in the wake of his conviction, was stung by paedophile hunters in 2025 and pled guilty earlier this year.

  The court had previously heard how Ware entered into chats with two people he believed to be Stacey, aged 14, and a 13-year-old named Chloe.

  It was actually a grown woman who went on to report the paedophile’s attempts to police.

  He had messaged “Stacey” between August 2024 and January of last year.

  The other fake youngster was messaged inappropriately by Ware between February and July 2025.

  On each occasion, he “repeatedly” requested that they send him inappropriate pictures of themselves and told each he was “sexually aroused”.

  Fiscal depute Gregor Forbes told the court that the profiles had been created by a member of the Dank Dragon group, who “proactively identify people that seek out children on the internet”.

  Ware first messaged one of the accounts on August 9 2024 and told the decoy child he wanted to “get naughty”, adding “I want to see your boobs”.

  Ware would continue to message the account throughout 2024, telling the child “I’m horny” and asking her to “send a sexy one, and maybe one in your underwear”.

  When the decoy asked to move the chat to WhatsApp, Ware replied he could not in case his wife found out.

  He also would not reveal his full face, telling the girl: “Because I’m married and I’m asking an under-ager to see her t**s.”

  In February 2025, Ware moved on to messaging the Chloe account.

  “I’ll be honest, Chloe. I’m looking to get naughty with someone,” he messaged.

  He would go on to promise to give the youngster his number if she showed him nude photographs.

  The decoy account owner reported Ware to her group on July 29 2025 and police were contacted.

  On Monday, his solicitor George Hilton-Rhind, said Ware was “ashamed” of his actions.

  Mr Hilton-Rhind said his client had no previous convictions and maintained a good relationship with his wife, despite his admissions.

  He added that Ware has since rejoined his local church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Mintlaw.

  “He accepts wholeheartedly that he was communicating with persons who, at the time, he believed were under the age of 16,” he said.

  “Looking back at his decision, he feels disgusted by his actions.

  “He accepted full responsibility for his conduct. He’s never once sought to blame others for his actions. And he’s shown some insight into why he believes he committed these offences.”

  Highlighting a passage in a social work report which was not disclosed to the court at large, Mr HiltonRhind said Ware had started using online chat rooms as a way of “escaping” from stress and loneliness.

  “He’s sought support from his church, which he has rejoined,” Mr HiltonRhind added.

  Mr Hilton-Rhind concluded: “He understands the considerable damage he’s caused to his family. He’s hopeful in time trust can be earned and regained.

  “He’s a man who feels great remorse and shame for his actions.”

  Sentencing, Sheriff Robert McDonald told Ware that his actions could have caused “serious harm” to an actual child.

  “There’s no question this is a very serious matter,” he said.

  “You have a high level of culpability here and there was the potential for very serious harm to the persons you were contacting had they been under the age of 16.”

  As a “direct alternative to custody”, Ware was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work within the next year. He will also be supervised and instructed to complete the Moving Forward 2 Change programme and will be on the sex offenders register.
  Article Name:Father and church-goer sought intimate images of ‘girls’ to ‘escape stress’
  Publication:The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
  Section:NEWS
  Author:BY JAMIE ROSS