Derek Mackay will not face charges over the messages he sent to a 16-year-old boy via Facebook. The former SNP high-flier resigned from his post as a minister on February 5.
Police Scotland consulted with the Crown Office before concluding that no laws had been broken in his interactions with the teen, according to a report in the Daily Record.
The Record said:
It was felt the trail of messages itself was inappropriate given the imbalance in power and the difference in age between the two parties.
The messages were not highly sexualised and, in any case, the boy was 16 and of age. But consideration was given as to whether the messages could have caused fear and alarm or distress.
“Could there have been an aggravated breach of the peace or would some sort of sexual aggravation or grooming charge be justified? But all things considered, the consensus was that the threshold of criminality had not been reached.
Despite calling the boy “cute”, the teen claims he had not been troubled enough by the messages to make a formal complaint to the police, though they had made him feel uncomfortable.
A Police Spokesperson said: “We have not received any complaint of criminality, however, we are currently assessing available information.”
According to reports he is receiving mental health treatment while Scots Tory Leader Jackson Carlaw says he must resign as an MSP immediately and has called on Nicola Sturgeon to make him do so but she is yet to comment.
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