A MAN is to appear in court charged with duping women into sending him naked pictures of themselves, by pretending to be a female representative of a modelling agency.

John Kilpatrick, 24, is said to have conned a dozen women and four teenage girls into sending him pictures of themselves undressed, by posing online as the model agency scout.

He is said to have threatened one woman that he would have her blacklisted as a model and that she would face a financial claim if she did not comply with his demands for naked images – thereby obtaining nude pictures from her by extortion.

A further nine women and three teenage girls are said to have sent him pictures of themselves, not fully naked, after falling for his alleged “model agency” fraud.

He is also said to have messaged a number of woman and girls who had already sent him naked pictures, saying that he would post them on the Internet if they did not send him more.

He faces 36 charges of obtaining or attempting to obtain pictures and private details of women and girls by fraud, extortion or attempted extortion, between January 2014 and March 2016.

He is also accused of indulging in online sexual messaging with a series of teenage and pre-teen girls, often allegedly sending them pictures of male sex organs and inducing them to send them naked pictures of themselves in return.

Further charges include possessing and downloading child abuse images; distributing child abuse images; and possessing extreme porn showing adults having sex with animals.

In total, he faces a 16-page indictment detailing 63 separate charges, dated from April 2010 to March 2016.

Kilpatrick, of Larbert, failed to appear at Stirling Sheriff Court last Wednesday.

His defence solicitor, Hazel McGuinness, said he had telephoned her office that morning to say he was “unwell”.

She asked for the case to be continued so Kilpatrick can appear and enter a plea.

She said a lengthy meeting had already taken place between Kilpatrick’s defence team and Crown lawyers.

Sheriff William Gilchrist continued the case until October 4th, for Kilpatrick to appear in person, and for legal discussions to be concluded.