Scots predator who ruined young women's lives in campaign of terror unmasked

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Scotland's most prolific online predator can be unmasked for the first time after a campaign of terror that wrecked a string of young women’s lives.

Andreas Gkertsos, 23, was a teenager when he went on a sexploitation rampage, leaking explicit photos online, stalking nine women and blackmailing them for thousands of pounds.

But it’s only now his identity can be revealed after years of legal hold-ups. He remains free despite admitting a string of crimes.

Public protection and crime expert Professor Jane Monckton-Smith said: “As someone who works in the area of tracking threat escalation, this case made my blood run cold.”

Using a web of fake social media profiles, Gkertsos convinced eight women to send him sexual images, bombarded them with abuse then ordered them to send more pictures or cash to make him stop.

The takeaway worker from ­ Edinburgh was 17 when he began threatening women online and sent images of one of his victims to her mum when she refused to pay him money.

He threatened to post pictures through neighbours’ doors and posted explicit images of one woman on her employers’ social media after she refused to pay up.

When another woman refused to comply, he terrorised her and her family so much they had to leave their home of 18 years.

He is one of the youngest people in Scotland investigated under revenge porn laws ­introduced in 2017.

He pleaded guilty to eight charge s under the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 and one of attempted extortion at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January 2023.

Last month, he pleaded guilty to stalking another woman – a case which took two years to come to court after the monster went on the run and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Two of Gkertsos’s victims have now bravely spoken out about their abuse to warn others.

Former girlfriend Becky Strain was 18 and he was 17 when they got together after meeting over Snapchat.

She was his first victim before Gkertsos went on to abuse eight other women, most of whom were complete strangers.

Now 23, Becky said she is afraid to go out alone, is uncomfortable around men and took antidepressants after the abuse she suffered.

Becky, a full-time carer for her mum, said: “At first he was really nice, a typical boyfriend – taking me out for dinner, buying me things, always complimenting me.

“Then about four months into the relationship he changed and became really abusive.

“We would argue if he didn’t like my clothes. One time I was wearing shorts and he said I had to go and change straight away and I wasn’t allowed to go out like that.

“He started pushing and hitting me and just became more aggressive.”

After nine months, Becky’s family began noticing Gkertos’s aggressive behaviour and she told them what had been happening.

The pair split up but this was only the start of her horror.

Becky said: “I started getting these messages on Snapchat from anonymous accounts. One was called ‘Edinburgh 101’ and another was ‘Edinburgh 24/7’.

“The person said they had photos of me and if I didn’t send them more they were going to send them to my mum and dad and post them on Snapchat.

“I ignored it but I started getting even more messages. They asked me for £1000 to delete the pictures.”

At one point Becky and her mum Alexis received hundreds of messages a day from anonymous accounts set up by Gkertsos.

Alexis said: “They said they had naked photos of my daughter and they were going to ruin her life and my life and post them everywhere.

“We went to the police and told them what was happening.” Gkertsos targeted seven other women in the same way and posted a lewd image of one on her work’s Facebook page.

In September 2021, he set up another fake profile under the name Callum Murray and started speaking to ­Edinburgh woman Chantal Cameron on Instagram and Snapchat.

Childcare worker Chantal, 23, had a setting turned on in Snapchat which allowed other users to see her location – which is usually off by default.

This meant Gkertsos quickly worked out where she lived.

Chantal said: “He said his name was Callum, he was 21 and lived in Oxgangs.

“He never sent photos with his face in them – he’d send blank screens or pictures of other stuff. I started getting flowers left on my car signed by Callum Murray. I never told him where I lived or what car I drove.”

Chantal said she blocked Callum Murray but was bombarded with abusive messages from anonymous accounts and unknown numbers.

She said: “The messages were not just to me but they seemed to know the names of my friends, my cousins, my family members. They were threatening everybody in our circle.”

Chantal told how she received messages apparently from friends telling her to unblock Callum Murray and give him a chance. They would turn out to be fake.

She began to receive pictures outside her house and of her car, and said: “One night my car window got smashed after I got messages saying they would smash the car. My dad’s car got smashed up on a different night.”

Eventually, her mum posted about the ordeal on Facebook and other women who had been targeted by Gkertsos recognised his ­trademark behaviour.

When Chantal finally learned who was behind the Callum Murray profile, she recognised Gkertsos from events she had been to but didn’t know him.

She said: “I used to go to car meets with my friends and my sister and I realised he had been there as well. I never spoke to him, I didn’t know who he was or why he’d done this to me. I realised he had made fake profiles pretending to be my actual friends.”

Gkertsos was arrested on suspicion of stalking Chantal, abusing Becky and seven other women in 2021 in but was not kept in custody.

Chantal and her family were so scared about what he might do next they left their home without even telling friends.

After pleading guilty to the abuse against Becky and the others in January 2023, Gkertsos was given a community service order then went on the run for months, stalling ­Chantal’s case. He was arrested again in October and pled guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to stalking Chantal, and will be sentenced this month.

Chantal said: “When I found out he had pled guilty I burst into tears, I was so relieved.

“I’m still terrified of what he might do because he is still out there. He needs to be in custody because he will do this again to other people.”

An expert on violence against women warned that Gkertsos will not stop being a threat to women.

Public protection and crime expert Professor Jane Monckton-Smith said: “Gkertsos used two of the more dangerous patterns of behaviour – coercive control and stalking.

“What I find particularly concerning is that he acted on threats he made. Threats start as thoughts, then that thought is articulated to someone, and a real danger sign is when that threat is then acted on.

“In my opinion this is an incredibly dangerous person who should not have been bailed.

“My concern is that because he started so young, he will be a danger to women in the future.”

Detective Sergeant Mark Seymour said: “This was a complex investigation as criminals like Gkertsos go to great lengths to hide their predatory activity.

“His conduct was malicious and had a lasting effect on the young women he targeted. It is thanks to their bravery in coming forward that his vile ­behaviour has been exposed.”

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