Nazi fantasist jailed for terrorism offences and child sex crimes

Axl Scott was sentenced to 18 months at Greenock Sheriff Court - weeks after being locked up for three years for multiple crimes of indecent activity involving underage females.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty in May to seven of 18 indictment charges, most of which related to Terrorism Act offences.

The court heard that Scott - described by his own defence advocate as 'a very odd young man' - was found with a blank firing pistol, a stun gun and smoke grenades in his home.

He also had photo and video instructions for the production of thermite, napalm, Molotov cocktails and RDX - a key chemical component of C-4.

The court was told that Scott joined several far-right extremist chat groups online, named after racist and anti-Semitic leaders and Nazi ideologies.

Axl Scott (Image: Facebook)

He sent pictures of himself wearing a swastika armband and making a Hitler salute - despite having Jewish relatives.

Communicating with other users on instant messaging apps such as Snapchat, WhatsApp and Telegram, Scott spoke of 'blowing up generators' to cause power outages, while a 3D printer - which can be used to create firearms - was discovered in his Ardentinny home during a police raid.

However, a Crown prosecutor told the court that 'there was never any intelligence suggesting that he was going to carry out any sort of attack'.

Scott was imprisoned earlier this year for multiple sexual assaults against young girls aged under 16 in Dunoon and elsewhere, having originally been accused of sending explicit photos to youngsters, engaging in sexual activity with various girls and supplying cigarettes, tobacco and alcohol to them.

One of the child witnesses in the sex offences case referred to Scott during police interviews as a 'Heil Hitler type of person' who had a number of weapons in his house including knives and guns.

He was arrested regarding the other matter in August 2022 and subsequent searches of his property uncovered a haul of indecent material.

READ MORE: Nazi fantasist with stun gun and smoke grenades admits terrorism-related offences

Between February 2021 and July 2022, he had photos on his mobile phone containing instructions on how to make improvised incendiary and explosive devices, as well as videos with manufacturing tips for the highly flammable napalm and thermite.

He used the picture messaging app Snapchat and also communicated via the encrypted Telegram platform, on which he had several group chats named after extreme right-wing leaders and ideologies such as 'Britain First', 'Inside the Third Reich', 'Adolf Hitler's Art Gallery' and 'The Reich Way'.

He said he had met people online and initially he was aligned with communism but became disillusioned with right-wing fanatics and 'kept their messages for evidence', claiming he was trying to infiltrate the groups and better understand the thinking of fellow members.

Defence advocate Joseph Barr told the court that his client was 'a very odd young man' who was 'socially inadequate' and had 'flip-flapped from communism to far-right extremism'.

Mr Barr added: "He is a fantasist in relation to all of this.

"A young man looking for online company and friends, someone who wouldn't make offline friends very easily.

Greenock Sheriff Court

"He has Jewish relations and is not anti-Semitic. These are not views that he holds at all.

"There is no evidence that he was going to do any of these things."

In response to the prison sentence, Detective Superintendent Stephen Clark said: "A team of officers worked consistently to build a clear picture of Scott's activities and crimes.

"The evidence uncovered clearly showed his extreme right-wing ideology and terrorist intentions.

"He now faces the consequences of the serious nature of his crimes.

"These types of crimes can cause concern in our local communities and while they are rare, they do remind us of the need to be vigilant."