A CHARITY shop manager took sexually explicit photographs of himself raping a 13-year-old girl with severe learning disabilities, a court has heard.

Vile David Wernham, from Helensburgh, made his young victim pose naked and wear handcuffs while he sexually abused her.

At the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday Wernham, 51, admitted raping the girl and taking hundreds of pictures of her in sexually explicit poses.

Although his face could not be seen in the sickening pictures, police identified him from his distinctive tattoos.

Father-of-three Wernham, who is also known as David Collins, met the girl at the charity shop and offered to take her on on metal detection outings, but instead he took her to his home and sexually abused her.

Prosecutor Stephen Borthwick said that Wernham's crimes came to light when the girl told a family member that he had sexually abused her.

Mr Borthwick added: “The girl has significant learning problems. She is incapable of giving consent to sex. She is highly vulnerable.”

The prosecutor added that it would be obvious to anyone that the girl had severe learning difficulties.

The court was told that sick Wernham gave the girl gifts, starting with toys and teddy bears, but he then gave her other presents including a pair of Nike shoes.

When police raided Wernham's house in West Argyle Street, they found 311 indecent photographs of children.

They also found a folder on his computer which had 565 indecent images of the 13-year-old.

Mr Borthwick said: “In some she is naked and wearing handcuffs. In 219 she can be facially identified. In others she can be identified by a birthmark.

“The complainer was unable to say what sexual abuse she had suffered.”

However the court heard that a number of the photographs showed her being sexually abused by Wernham, who was recognised by his tattoos.

The offences were committed between July 2015 and February 2016.

Sick Wernham claimed that the handcuffs used on the girl were toy ones and came from the “dressing up' box at the charity shop he managed.

Police discovered that although the images were on a thumbnail cache holder on Wernham's computer, they came from a USB stick which has never been found.

Judge Lord Beckett placed Wernham on the sex offenders' register, and will sentence him next month at the High Court in Dunfermline.

Defence counsel Lorraine Glancy will give her plea in mitigation then.