SCOTLAND’S top police officer is pursuing a rare civil action against a notorious conman in a bid to have him registered as a sex offender.
Police Scotland Chief Constable Phil Gormley is seeking to have Reece Scobie, 22, put on the register because he was caught with child pornography while he was abroad.
Scobie, who was described as the "catch me if you can" fraudster after using stolen credit card details to travel the world, was jailed in Iceland after being found with child porn images and videos.
Mr Gormley lodged an action at Perth Sheriff Court to argue that the nature of Scobie’s conviction in Iceland means he poses a potential danger to children in Scotland.
The rare notification hearing was heard in private, but a Scottish Court Service spokesman confirmed that an interim order had been granted in favour of Mr Gormley.
However, Scobie’s solicitor asked the court for time to seek legal aid to fight the case and it was sisted until the end of November.
A Police Scotland spokesman said it would be inappropriate to comment on the circumstances relating to any individual in an ongoing action.
But the spokesman added: “Protecting the public is a top priority for Police Scotland.
"In Scotland we have a multi-agency approach under the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) which provides a comprehensive response to a complex issue, using professional assessment and management to properly target resources at those who pose a risk to the public.
“Police Scotland works in partnership with a number of agencies through MAPPA to ensure all registered sex offenders are robustly managed within the community.
"While we can never eliminate risk entirely, we want to reassure communities that all reasonable steps are being taken to protect them.”
Scobie has already been caught defying a strict ban on internet use since his return from Iceland and was ordered to carry out 80 hours' community work.
He was caught using the internet at his home in Inchture, Perthshire, and also having a secret mobile phone which he later disposed of.
As well as being jailed for 12 months in Iceland last year, he was also ordered to pay the equivalent of £18,000 court costs after he admitted several frauds and having a large haul of child porn.
He was found with 4,750 photographs and 345 videos of child porn and the conditions restricting his use of the internet were in place upon his return to Scotland.
Scobie had vowed to stay out of trouble after being freed from prison in Iceland, but was arrested within days of his return.
In 2013, the then 19-year-old was jailed for 16 months after he admitted carrying out a massive con to fund his “fantasy” globetrotting lifestyle.
He was compared to notorious fraudster Frank Abagnale, whose story was turned into the film Catch Me If You Can, after he conned travel firms out of £70,000 to book flights and accommodation around the world.
On his return from Iceland, he said: “I don’t know why I did it. I have a huge interest in planes and travel, but it’s nothing like Catch Me If You Can.
“It was just the thrill of being on the flight. I pretty much just got off a plane and then went on another one."
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