Conner Stolarek

A volunteer football coach from Sauchie has been sentenced to prison for committing child sex offences, including grooming and soliciting indecent images from young boys. Conner Stolarek, aged 26, appeared at Falkirk Sheriff Court where he pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to sexual communication with children and possession of child abuse material.

The court heard that in February 2020, Stolarek targeted a 10-year-old boy whom he had previously messaged sporadically on Snapchat about football. Using a bogus account named 'FreecodesPS4Xbox', which he operated himself, Stolarek lured the boy by promising free V-Bucks, the in-game currency for Fortnite. Once the boy added the account and confirmed his age, Stolarek messaged: 'asking him to send a few 'nudies' and indicating that if he did so he would get a code'. The boy sent three explicit images, including one naked and one of his private parts, but blocked the account after noticing a screenshot notification.

Unbeknownst to the boy, Stolarek was behind the account. When the child complained to Stolarek about the incident, the coach offered to 'do a deal' to delete the images, but only if the boy sent them again. After receiving the images once more, Stolarek persisted, requesting videos and saying: 'Just a couple of videos, then I leave you alone'. This caused the distressed boy to cry and inform his grandmother, leading to police involvement. Further evidence of Stolarek's messages was discovered on the boy's iPad.

In a separate incident that same month, Stolarek encountered a 12-year-old boy in Sauchie and invited him to his flat. While the boy played on his mobile phone, Stolarek suddenly asked him to expose part of his body, offering money and cigarettes in exchange. The boy, described as 'scared', refused and left. This offence came to light during a police investigation into Stolarek's contacts with children.

Following his arrest, police raided Stolarek's flat in Schaw Court, Sauchie, and found an iPhone containing nearly 1,400 indecent images of children, with 368 classified as the most serious category. The images were downloaded between 3 July 2019 and 20 February 2020. Prosecutor Michael Maguire outlined the details during the hearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Keith O'Mahony sentenced Stolarek to 28 months in jail, with an extended sentence of 12 months during which he could be recalled if he re-offends. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. The case was reported by the Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser on 3 August 2021.