A SEEDY teenager phoned his mum’s friend pretending he worked for Razzle magazine offering her the chance to appear in porn.
Lyle Irvine rang 59-year-old Anne Bain 40 times across five months last year, claiming he worked in the porn industry.
Mrs Bain had no idea that her friend’s 19 year-old son was on the other end of the phone.
But the prank calls turned even nastier when he gasped: “F*** me, f*** me, I’ve got a big c***.”
The horrified woman rang BT and police, who traced the calls back to Irvine and charged him under the Communications Act.
Now aged 20, Irvine pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today (Thursday) to causing annoyance, inconvenience and needles anxiety by making obscene remarks down the phone.
After being arrested he told police: “I’ve grown up a bit now.
“I didn’t mean for anybody to be unsettled or hurt.”
“Great concern”
Razzle’s publishers confirmed the conman has never worked for their company, which also distributes titles including Razzle Readers’ Wives, Mayfair and Escort.
The victim, Mrs Bain, was “well known” to Lyle, according to prosecutor Aidan Higgins.
He told the court: “Between June and November at various times of the day, the accused telephoned the lady.
“She is well known to him as she is a friend of his mother.
“He made some 40 calls to this lady but when asked to identify himself, he didn’t.
“Occasionally he called her by her first name or her surname so it was of course of great concern this unidentified caller seemed to know who she was.
“On one occasion he stated he was from a magazine called Razzle and asked the lady if she wanted to appear in this magazine.”
Often during the calls, Irvine would “go into fairly incoherent speech.”
Mr Higgins added: “On a number of occasions he appeared to go into fairly incoherent speech, saying things along the lines of: “F*** me, f*** me, I’ve got a big c***.”
“Much of what he did say during these calls, while obscene, seems to have been less than articulate.
“It did sound to the lady, as she listened to this voice, that this was somebody who was under the influence of alcohol.
“She engaged the assistance of British Telecom and the police in trying to trace the calls.”
“No idea why he did it”
During police interview, Irvine, of Edinburgh’s Spring Gardens, claimed he had stopped making the calls three weeks before being caught.
“He said he had no idea why he had started making the telephone calls,” Mr Higgins said.
“He told police that he had stopped making the calls because, in his own words, “I’ve got too much to do now, I’ve grown up a bit.””
His defence agent Eddie Wilson said: “There may be something that made him make these calls.
“Even when his mother came to speak to me with him, he was unable to come up with an explanation.
“A psychological report may assist the court.”
Sheriff James Scott deferred sentence on Lyle so social workers can investigate his background.
He was released on bail ahead of sentencing later this year.
A spokesperson for Paul Raymond Publications said: “We have checked the system and he does not and never has worked for Razzle.
“We would wish to distance ourselves from him.”
