Edinburgh DJ DAV pleads guilty to child sex offences

WARNING: This article includes accounts sexual abuse against children and may be distressing for some readers. Resources for support are listed at the end of this article

Edinburgh-based DJ DAV, AKA Dave Angelo Valdez, has pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

According to the Daily Record, Valdez had coerced a 14-year-old girl to perform sex acts for him online, while recording the footage on a mobile phone, before sending "five to 10" images of himself masturbating to the victim.

The footage was discovered when police raided the 25-year-old's home in Edinburgh's Old Town, alongside "around 2000" indecent images of children as young as four years old on his phone, dated between April 2019 and March 2021.

The Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that hundreds of the images were "Category A", the most extreme category for prohibited images of children under Scottish law.

Under the DJ name DAV, Valdez regularly performed across nightclubs in Edinburgh, including The Mash House, Cabaret Voltaire and Superico.

Valdez has now been placed on the sex offenders' register and faces a lengthy jail sentence, with the Daily Record reporting that the Edinburgh Sheriff has instructed him to "get his affairs in order."

Dave Angelo Valdez will be sentenced by The Edinburgh Sheriff Court next month.

The NAPAC supports people in the UK in their recovery from child abuse, you can call them for free on 080801 801 0331 between 10:AM-9:PM Monday-Thursday and 10:AM-6:PM on Fridays.

Childhelp National Help Hotline is a US-based charity that offers support to people who believe they are experiencing child abuse, have witnessed child abuse and want to heal from child abuse. You can contact them via the live chat function on their website and by phone/text on +1800.422.4433.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter