Latest Offenders Aberdeen

Description

A serial sex offender who abused nine women over a 15-year period has been jailed for 12 years.

Stephen Kidd, 36, was earlier convicted by a jury of offences in the Aberdeen area between 2005 and 2020.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, he was told by Lord Weir that a lengthy custodial term was required.

Passing sentence, the judge also ordered Kidd to be supervised by the authorities for three years following his release from custody.

Kidd shot a video of himself sexually assaulting one of his victims.

The jury returned guilty verdicts to charges including rape and indecent assault.

During proceedings last December, Kidd accepted that the evidence painted a picture of him being a violent and controlling individual.

On Tuesday, defence advocate Gary Allan KC told Lord Weir that Kidd still maintained he was innocent of any wrongdoing, but accepted he would be going to prison for his crimes.

'Commend their bravery'

The judge told Kidd: "The jury must have been satisfied that you were responsible for the offences which show of your sinister and controlling conduct.

"There's no alternative in this case to the imposition of a lengthy custodial sentence.

"I'm also satisfied that in light of your crimes that there has to be a period of supervision - that is necessary to secure the public from serious harm when you are released from custody."

Police Scotland welcomed the conviction of Kidd, from Peterculter, and said it was hoped it would bring some closure to the women involved.

Det Insp Gordon Patullo said: "Our thought are very much with Kidd's victims. I commend them all for their bravery in coming forward.

"Kidd subjected women to sexual and physical assault over a 15-year period. He has shown no remorse for his crimes.

"I would urge anyone who wishes to report a sexual crime, no matter how long ago, to contact us."

Description

A pensioner caught with an indecent image of a young girl on his laptop has claimed he was downloading old war films when the image appeared on his device.

Ronald Singer didn’t delete the category C image, though, and when police searched his device he was arrested, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.

The 67-year-old said the image, of a young girl aged between eight and 10, had appeared on his device after he used a torrent site to download war films.

Fiscal depute Eabha Sweeney said the one image was created on March 18 last year and was found on April 28 last year after a search warrant was executed on his Cove home.

Indecent image was of young girl

“A systematic search of the locus was conducted,” she said. “Two detective sergeants from the forensic computing department attended and carried out preliminary examinations of the devices found.

“A HP computer was found to contain one Category-C associated CSM format image which featured a girl approximately eight to 10 years old.”

The image was found in Singer’s downloads folder named “LS Magazine”.

Singer was taken to a cell at Kittybrewster police station where he gave a no comment interview.

In court, after his charge was reduced to summary level and amended to include fewer charges, he admitted taking, permitting to take or making an indecent or pseudo-photograph of a child.

Said he was downloading war films

Defence agent Gregor Kelly said the retired quality assurance engineer had not been before the courts for 35 years and had no analogous previous convictions.

“Since he was a young male he used to watch World War Two films with his father,” Mr Kelly said.

“He has accessed such films in the past through a torrent website which is a download website for copyright material.

“While downloading, he found that other material or another nature found its way on to this machine.

“He didn’t delete it.”

‘He is mortified’

The solicitor also said the offence was at the “lowest end” of the indecent image scale.

“He is mortified at finding himself in the dock,” he added. “He accepts this is not a victimless crime to provide an audience for such material he feels extremely ashamed.”

Sheriff Margaret Hodge called for background reports to be prepared on Singer, of Earns Heugh Walk, Cove.

She deferred sentencing until next month and made him subject to the notification requirements of the sex offender’s register meantime.

Description

A Fraserburgh man caught with child sex abuse material involving toddlers told a decoy 13-year-old girl that “age is just a number”.

Michael Marnoch, 30, was snared by paedophile hunters and when police arrived to search his home they found a selection of indecent images of children and videos featuring a girl aged between two and three.

It was also discovered that Marnoch had entered the search terms “incest”, “pre-teens” and “babies”.

Marnoch – who initially tried to claim the phone seized by police belonged to his mother – admitted later that the phone was his.

Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that a member of an online paedophile hunter group was operating a 13-year-old decoy on September 7 when she was messaged on Facebook by a user called ‘Amy Stephen’, which was operated by Marnoch.

‘Age is just a number’

Marnoch immediately sent a picture of a woman exposing her breasts, claiming this was a picture of herself and attempted to encourage ‘Adele’ to do likewise.

“When ‘Adele’ told the accused that she was only 13-years-old, the accused replied, ‘Age is just a number’,” Ms Simpson said.

“The accused thereafter added ‘Adele’ to a Facebook Messenger group chat where a number of sexualised messages, images and videos were being shared.

“The adult operating the decoy account for ‘Adele’ continued to receive messages from the accused over the next few days.

“He messaged her stating ‘dam your beautiful’, ‘bet you have nice boobs’ followed by ‘let’s see’.”

On September 12 the operator of the decoy account halted all communication with Marnoch and contacted the police.

Police found illegal material on phone

Officers executed a search warrant at Marnoch’s home and seized a mobile phone, which he initially told them was his mother’s.

He also claimed the phone had a PIN number but refused to give the code.

Cybercrime analysts carried out a forensic examination, cracked the PIN code and were able to prove that Marncoh was the user of the device.

Marnoch pleaded guilty to one charge of downloading indecent images of children.

He also admitted a second charge of communicating with a child for sexual gratification, who he believed to be under 16.

‘You did think you were communicating with a girl of 13’

Defence agent Sam Milligan told the court that Marnoch did have previous convictions but not for anything “relevant or analogous” to these offences.

“He has had a fairly turbulent upbringing and Mr Marnoch has a distinct lack of social skills,” Mr Milligan said.

“His attitude to the offending in the social work report was less than candid, but this is not uncommon.”

Sheriff Andrew Miller told Marnoch that he had pleaded guilty to “serious offences involving multiple possession of indecent images of children”.

“The serious nature of your conduct comes from the fact that you did think you were communicating with a girl of 13 years of age,” he added.

As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Andrew Miller sentenced Marnoch to a community payback order with supervision for three years and ordered him to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work.

The sheriff also placed Marnoch, of Alexandra Terrace, Fraserburgh, on the sex offender’s register for three years.

Description

An oil and gas worker has been placed on the sex offender’s register after he was caught with thousands of child sex abuse images.

Andrew Smith’s house was raided by police who found more than 3,500 images and hours of video footage across his electronic devices.

When officers arrived at the 53-year-old’s Banchory home he told them: “I’ve downloaded stuff I shouldn’t have.”

Police discovered images of children as young as one and video footage totalling nearly 16 hours.

Smith, who had been downloading the images for over 14 years, told the arresting officers: “It’s a disgusting thing. I don’t even know why I do it.”

‘Sorry for giving everyone the hassle’

Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told the court that a search warrant for Smith’s Banchory home was executed on November 16 2021.

Smith allowed them entry and as he was cautioned he stated: “I’ve downloaded stuff I shouldn’t have. I’m more into downloading than viewing stuff. I shan’t be doing that anymore, obviously.”

“A systematic search of the locus was thereafter conducted,” Ms Simpson said.

“During this search, a computer tower and a hard drive were recovered and the accused identified these items as belonging to him – he also provided the passcode for the computer tower.

“Initial examination of these devices revealed indecent images of children and the items were seized by police.”

In reply to caution and arrest, Smith stated: “Sorry for giving everyone the hassle and it’s a disgusting thing. I don’t even know why I do it.”

Smith’s computer tower was found to contain 174 videos of male and female children between one and 14 years of age.

The combined video runtime of these videos was 15 hours and 50 minutes.

A total of 3,515 images of children aged between three and 14 were found on both Smith’s computer tower and hard drive.

Two of those were Category A, two were Category B, while the remaining 3,511 were considered Category C.

Smith pleaded guilty to one charge of taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children between August 31 2007 and November 16 2021.

He admitted a further charge of being in possession of indecent images of children.

He must now ‘reflect on his demons’

Defence agent Lynn Bentley told the court that her client had no previous convictions and was in full-time employment.

She added: “He knows that his conduct is entirely unacceptable and he regrets having become involved in that.

“The images were entirely for his own use and there’s no evidence of him sharing them.”

Ms Bentley told the court Smith was aware he must now “reflect on his demons”.

Sheriff Andrew Miller told Smith: “You have pleaded guilty to very serious offences.

“I am constantly reminded that anyone who downloads images of this kind of child sexual abuse contributes to the worldwide demand for these images – that outlines why these offences are so serious.”

As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Miller placed Smith on a community payback order with supervision and ordered him to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.

He also placed Smith, of Banchory, on the sex offender’s register for three years.

Description

A north-east man has been jailed after police caught him with almost 17 days’ worth of child sex abuse videos.

Jordan Gall, 27, was found in possession of nearly 7,000 indecent images of children and more than two weeks’ worth of video footage – most of which were in the worst category.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told that some of the video footage discovered on Gall’s mobile phone featured babies.

The total run time of the videos discovered was 16 days, 13 hours and 50 minutes.

The number of images and videos recovered by cybercrime police was more than 13,500.

Gall, who wore sunglasses in the dock, was told by a sheriff that due to the “sheer amount” of images and videos found, only a prison sentence was appropriate.

Fiscal depute Ruaraidh McAlister told the court during an earlier hearing that on November 30 2021 police sought a warrant to search Gall’s home after they had received intelligence that his devices may contain images of children.

Police executed the warrant on December 21 2021 and were allowed into the property by Gall who was home alone, Mr McAlister said.

More than 13,500 indecent images and videos found on Gall’s devices

He added: “Various electronic devices were found within the locus.

“The accused identified them as belonging to him and he provided passcodes for them.

“The devices underwent a preview examination by cybercrime officers and through this the officers identified that a mobile telephone belonging to the accused appeared to contain indecent images of children.”

Gall, of Provost Graham Avenue, Aberdeen, was arrested and taken into police custody.

A police cybercrime team later fully examined Gall’s mobile phone and found 2,631 Category A images, 1,375, Category B images and 2,946 images that were Category C.

Of the 6,592 videos found, 4,396 of those were in the most serious Category A, while 1,015 were considered Category B and 1,181 were Category C.

The videos and images found featured boys and girls of all ages, from babies up to 14 years old.

Gall pleaded guilty to one charge of taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent images of children.

He also admitted to a further charge of possessing indecent images of children.

‘Underlying issues’ being addressed

Defence agent Sian Grant told the court that Gall has “underlying issues” that he has been addressing.

She said her client was “in a relationship” with someone “who liked those types of things” at the time.

“In trying to keep the relationship going he thought he should get involved in these things – but that is not an excuse for his behaviour,” Ms Grant said.

“He has also been deemed suitable for a sex offenders’ programme.”

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told Gall: “This is a very, very serious matter given the sheer amount of material found.

“I wanted to get a psychological report to assess whether you may be considered suitable for a community disposal.

“However, I just come back to the sheer serious nature of this matter and it seems to me the only appropriate sentence in this case is a custodial one.”

Sheriff McLaughlin sentenced Gall to 12 months in prison and placed him on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Not his first time in court

Gall previously appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in 2019 and admitted stalking a couple.

At one point he left a mannequin head with a knife stabbed into it outside their Rosemount home in a terrifying campaign of intimidation.

His victims – a man and woman who lived in the same block of flats – were left scared to leave their homes as a result of the sinister series of incidents.

Gall admitted to police he was sexually attracted to the man and jealous of the couple’s relationship.

The court was told he sent the couple anonymous abusive letters, turned off the electricity to their property, threw crockery from his upstairs window and wrote “RIP” outside their home.

Description

A sex offender breached a court order when he befriended a mum at a foodbank and posed for a selfie with her 11-year-old daughter.

David Scott, known as Ritchie, previously admitted to asking underage teenagers to send him naked pictures and served two years in prison following the offence in 2017.

He’d sent two 13-year-old schoolgirls sexually explicit pictures of himself through Snapchat and repeatedly demanded naked images in return.

The 25-year-old was then placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and ordered not to communicate with anyone under the age of 16 for five years.

But Ritchie landed back in the dock after breaching the Sex Offences Prevention Order by being friendly with an 11-year-old girl who he met at an Aberdeenshire foodbank.

‘Laughing and joking’

Fiscal depute Ruaridh McAllister told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that Ritchie had met the girl’s mum while volunteering at the foodbank between June and August this year.

He was in the company of the woman and her daughter, aged 11, on various occasions but failed to tell them about his conviction or the court order still in place.

The fiscal said the woman saw Ritchie “making cups of tea and coffee for people” along with two children at a social event.

“She saw how they were all getting on well and laughing and joking”, he said. “During this occasion, the accused also sat at a table with them and chatted.”

Met young girl for ice cream

A matter of weeks later, Ritchie was invited to join one of the women from the foodbank at an ice cream parlour.

He agreed to join them, despite knowing that her daughter and another 11-year-old child would be there. Ritchie posed for a selfie there too, the court was told.

The same month, Ritchie accepted an offer of help with moving home from the 11-year-old girl’s mum who picked him up in her car with her daughter.

He also chatted with the same mother and daughter at a bus stop the same month.

“On August 20 2022 police officers carried out a home visit with the accused”, the fiscal added. “During this visit, several new ‘contacts’ were identified from a check of his mobile telephone.”

Two of these were the two ladies from the centre and he advised officers that he was “friendly with them both” but hadn’t told them about his Sex Offenders Prevention Order.

When a police officer later told Ritchie he must tell the 11-year-old’s mum about his order he “reluctantly agreed”.

But when officers checked in with the lady two days later he had failed to come clean to her.

“She told the officers the accused did speak to her the night before but she made it clear he did not disclose his conditions to her”, Mr McAllister explained.

“She was unaware he was prohibited from communicating with anyone under the age of 16.

“She appeared angry and upset about this and said that, if the accused had notified her of the Sex Offenders Prevention Order, she would have not allowed him anywhere near her daughter.”

‘A lovely individual’

Defence agent Leonard Burkinshaw represented Ritchie, who has been remanded in custody since August, and told the court his client “is a lovely individual”.

He appeared in the dock after being transported from HMP Grampian prison in Peterhead and admitted breaching his Sex Offences Prevention Order.

Mr Burkinshaw said Ritchie “finds it very difficult to make friends at all” and hasn’t been able to secure work because of his conviction.

“He is a lovely individual and this welfare centre was a place where he could volunteer”, the solicitor said.

“This welfare centre operates as a food bank and he was using its services. The manager there was made aware of his conditions.

“He was allowed to enter and to assist them by handing out teas and coffee to people there.

“The lady involved volunteers there as well and he accepts that he didn’t specifically tell her of his conditions. However, the manager was aware.

“He accepts it’s his obligation to tell each and every person.”

‘Paid a price’

Mr Burkinshaw added that Ritchie was never alone with the woman’s daughter or any other child under the age of 16.

“Albeit he didn’t inform them of the conditions, and that was important to do, he has paid a price for that.

“It was a friendship that he was clinging to. That has been difficult for him in the past and it will be going forward for him too.”

The defence lawyer accepted that jail was inevitable for his client but suggested it was “not the most heinous breach”.

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin noted it was not the first time that Ritchie had breached his order and so a period of imprisonment was inevitable.

She jailed Ritchie, already a prisoner at HMP Grampian, for 12 months.

But the sentence was backdated to his remand date of August 2022.

Description

An Aberdeenshire man who chatted with what he believed were five underage girls has been added to the sex offenders register.

Michael Burr was caught out by vigilante paedophile hunters who posed as young teenagers on fake Facebook accounts.

The 57-year-old sent them indecent images of himself, asked the ‘young girls’ to share pictures of their bodies, and to keep conversations a “secret”.

But after the vigilantes confronted Burr at his home, he later landed in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in September this year.

Burr, who was previously married with children, admitted communicating with decoys that were created to snare sex offenders who were looking to chat with children online.

Fiscal depute Carol Gammie told the court that Burr sexually communicated with the fake profiles from an address in Inverurie, between September 5-23 last year

She said that photographs used on the accounts were “clearly” of girls aged under 16.

On September 5 last year, Burr approached a decoy called ‘Cassie’ who identified herself as 13 and he immediately asked: “You are a young girl, do you want to chat to an old man?”

Then he asked the girl to send naked pictures of her body and sent her an image of his private parts.

‘Would you join me in the shower?’

On September 10, Burr, who claimed to be an oil and gas worker, started chatting with a second 14-year-old decoy called ‘Penny Louise’.

He also asked her for pictures, saying: “Would you like to share your body?”

Then he forwarded an image of his own private parts.

Four days later, Burr started a conversation with a third decoy called ‘Sky’ and stated: “Do you like chatting to older men?”

He also asked the girl if she was “going through puberty” and requested a picture of her in her pyjamas.

On September 16, Burr messaged a fourth girl called ‘Bethany’, who he thought was 14, and asked: “Would you join me in the shower? You could wash me and I could wash you?”

Then he asked for a naked photo and sent her an indecent one of himself.

Between September 15-23, Burr chatted to a fifth girl called ‘Stacey’.

He told the 14-year-old, “I like to look at girls” and that he would like to see pictures of her in the shower and the bath.

Once again, Burr sent an image of his private parts.

‘Great difficulty admitting guilt’

On September 27 2022, the paedophile hunter group confronted Burr at his home and contacted the police.

During previous court proceedings, Burr pleaded guilty to five charges of sending sexual communications to what he believed to be girls under the age of 16 for sexual gratification.

His defence solicitor Graham Morrison told the court that his client initially had “great difficulty admitting his guilt” due to the nature of the offences.

“Before this, he was married with children”, he said.

“But there was clearly something amiss and he became depressed and lonely. That’s how this offence has occurred.

“His expressions of remorse and regret over his actions are genuine.”

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told Burr that she considered it “best” that he joins a sexual offenders rehabilitation programme.

“You’re a 57-year-old man who appears before the court for something which is very serious”, she said.

“You need to do that programme if your risk is to be reduced.”

As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff McLaughlin ordered Burr to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a three-year community payback order with supervision.

She also ordered Burr, of Lumphanan, to participate in a sex offenders treatment programme and placed him on the sex offenders register for three years.

Description

A former welder has been found guilty of sneaking into the home of a Peterhead mum and subjecting her to a terrifying hour-long sexual assault.

Two other women had also accused Smitras of sexual assaults in Peterhead town centre.

It took a jury of eight men and six women less than an hour to convict Smitras of sexually assaulting the mum-of-two in her home.

The jury also found Smitras guilty of sexually assaulting a second woman on Prince Street just hours later.

However, he was found not guilty of sexually touching a third woman at the Caley Bar in March 2013.

During an emotionally charged week-long trial, Smitas’ first victim, now 33, told a jury of her terror after she awoke to find a stranger standing over her bed with his trousers pulled down.

She described her attacker’s actions that day as “so wrong” and that the assault had “stripped every part of me”.

“I was left feeling like it stripped my identity and there was nothing left,” she told the jury.

“I felt ashamed and worthless.”

Asked by fiscal depute Lynne MacVicar why she felt it was so important to report the incident, she said: “It was so hard. But I didn’t think it was right that he would get to do this and get away.”

Upon hearing the jury majority verdict on both charges, Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told Smitras – who fled to Germany after being originally charged with the crime – that a prison sentence was “likely” to be the outcome.

During the trial, the woman told the court how she awoke to find Smitras in her bedroom touching her under her duvet.

She then struggled with Smitras, a Lithuanian national, before breaking free of his grasp and barricading herself in the bathroom.

The 33-year-old woman – who was 24 at the time of the assault – then made a bolt for the front door, but was again grabbed by Smitras.

The pair struggled in her living room and she ended up on the sofa underneath the man, who she said was trying to rape her.

Snared by DNA

The woman said she eventually broke free of her attacker and dashed for the door, escaping into the street.

Smitras then left the woman’s home and walked into Peterhead town centre where he grabbed and sexually assaulted a second woman.

The jury heard evidence from a series of witnesses who identified Smitras wearing a distinctive blue jacket and loitering outside his first victim’s home the night before the attack.

They were also shown a report by a police forensics expert today told the jury that a DNA profile found on the neck and jeans of the woman matched Smitras.

Former forensic biologist Linda Muckersie, one of the scientists who led the testing, said it was “approximately one billion times more likely” to be the profile of Smitras than any other man.

The woman said she eventually broke free of her attacker and dashed for the door, escaping into the street.

Smitras then left the woman’s home and walked into Peterhead town centre where he grabbed and sexually assaulted a second woman.

The jury heard evidence from a series of witnesses who identified Smitras wearing a distinctive blue jacket and loitering outside his first victim’s home the night before the attack.

They were also shown a report by a police forensics expert today told the jury that a DNA profile found on the neck and jeans of the woman matched Smitras.

Former forensic biologist Linda Muckersie, one of the scientists who led the testing, said it was “approximately one billion times more likely” to be the profile of Smitras than any other man.

Police hail bravery of victims

Speaking after the case, Detective Chief Inspector Jackie Knight, from the Aberdeenshire Public Protection Unit, praised the women for coming forward.

She said: “It takes immense courage for victims of sexual assault to speak out and I would like to commend them for their bravery.

“Smitras is finally being held to account for his crimes.

“Police Scotland is committed to supporting victims of sexual crimes and investigating those responsible, bringing them to justice.

“I would encourage any victims to come forward and report it.  They can be assured of being fully supported by officers and partner agencies.”

Description

An Aberdeen man sent sexual Snapchat messages to a schoolgirl asking the teenager for a kiss and checking if she would keep it a secret.

Greig Alexander Robertson even admitted to the 15-year-old girl in one of the messages that his unlawful behaviour was possibly wrong.

The 38-year-old sent a number of snaps to the underage teen, suggesting they meet up in his car and kiss and also asked the girl if she could keep a secret?

But Robertston was soon caught when the girl spoke to her mum and showed her the messages hed sent.

He pleaded guilty to a single charge of sexual written communications and images to a child for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification.

And after being put on the sex offenders register, he covered his face to hide from press photographers as he left Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Fiscal depute Tom Proctor had earlier told the court that, at the time of Robertson messaging the girl on Snapchat, she was a 15-year-old school pupil.

She and her friends regularly used the social media application, he said.

At the time, the complainer and the other parties concerned were all within their home addresses.

At around 11.50pm on October 27 2021, the complainer was within her bedroom sending Snapchat messages to her friends with the caption Goodnight.

Within a few minutes, she received a reply from a Snapchat account belonging to Greg Robertson.

She received a Snapchat message from the accused, with the accuseds face, with the caption, how would you feel if I kissed you?

The complainer informed her friends of this and they suggested that she reply to the accused the following day whilst they were there.

Thereafter, at 9pm the following day, the complainer received various Snapchats from the account.

How would it happen, my car?

The girl then opened the messages, with one containing a picture of Robertsons face and realised that the account must belong to Greg Robertson.

He then sent her a series of Snapchat messages with captions that said: Who are you with?, if we kiss, will you keep it a secret? and how would it happen, my car?

Robertson then told the teenager: Its possibly wrong, can I trust you?

He then sent a follow-up message asking again if the girl wanted to kiss him.

Upon receiving these messages and images, the girl confided in her mother, and Robertsons actions were reported to the police.

Robertsons home searched

A search warrant was granted and officers searched Robertsons home address where he was cautioned and arrested.

He was taken to Kittybrewster custody suite and, while being interviewed, he made various admissions.

Robertson was formally cautioned and charged on November 3 last year in relation to the offence.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual written communications and images to a child for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification.

Sheriff Lesley Johnston deferred sentence on Robertson, in order for a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment to be carried out.

She also made Robertson, of Corthan Drive, Aberdeen, subject to the sex offenders register.

Description

A man sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl on an Aberdeen bus and made a series of disgusting comments towards three underage girls during the journey.

Christopher Barron, 36, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted making repeated lewd remarks to the girls.

All of them were only 12 years old at the time and were told by Barron they were sexy and that he would destroy them.

He then told the group of girls that they wouldnt be able to walk for weeks.

Barron even sexually assaulted one of the 12-year-olds by slapping the girls bottom.

Fiscal depute Ryan Diamond told the court that, at around 14.45pm on August 13, the three girls arrived at a bus stop on Lang Stracht in Aberdeen bound for the city centre.

Barron was already at the bus stop and engaged the young girls in conversation.

At the time the accused said to one of the girls, I cant wait until you get on top, and slapped her bottom with his hand, Mr Diamond said.

While on the number 23 bus the accused continued to make sexualised comments, stating that one of the girls was sexy and that he would destroy her.

Wouldnt be able to walk for weeks

Barron then made further sexual comments towards all three of the girls, by claiming he would destroy them all.

Finally, he turned to all the girls and said that they wouldnt be able to walk for weeks.

The three girls got off the bus when they reached their stop in Aberdeen city centre and contacted the police.

Barron, who has a previous conviction for threatening behaviour, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl and a second charge of directing verbal communications at underage girls for the purposes of sexual gratification, causing distress or alarm.

The 36-year-old also admitted a further charge of breaching a condition not to approach his former partner.

Sought help for his issues

Defence agent Michael Horsman told the court that his client was under the influence of drugs at the time of the offences.

He added: What has been described was over a short period of time and was over a short bus journey.

As far as Mr Barron was concerned, this was an isolated incident.

He was under the influence at the time but he knows that does not excuse his conduct.

Mr Barron has also sought help for his issues.

Very serious matters

Sheriff Karen Kirk told Barron: The court understands you are ashamed of these matters, particularly the incident on August 13 2021.

The court takes those matters very seriously and two of those offences relate to sexual offences.

They are very serious and relate to young girls.

Sheriff Kirk sentenced Barron to a community payback order with supervision for three years and ordered him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work.

She also placed Barron, of School Avenue in Aberdeen, on the sex offenders register for three years and put a one-year non-harassment order in place concerning the breach of bail charge.

Description

A man who raped a woman as she returned home from a night out in Aberdeen has been jailed.

Jeffery Oviasogie, 21, admitted attacking the 29-year-old in Bon Accord Terrace Gardens in the early hours of 26 September last year.

He had been employed as a support worker at Camphill special needs school in the city at the time.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Oviasogie was jailed for four years and eight months.

The Nigerian national's visitor visa expired six months before the attack. He had been living in the UK since 2018.

The victim had been on a night out with friends before heading home in the early hours.

She was walking when Oviasogie suddenly came up and started talking to her. He then followed her as she continued into Bon Accord Terrace Gardens.

Prosecutor John McElroy previously said: "She began to feel uncomfortable. As she walked along a steep path, the woman was aware of Oviasogie behind her.

"Her next memory is of being on her back on a muddy area with him on top of her.

"She was screaming for help, but she was unable to move beneath his weight."

Oviasogie demanded she "shut up" and raped her as he held her down.

The advocate depute said: "She continued screaming and shouting. She was petrified."

A man heard the cries and spotted Oviasogie on top of the woman.

As the rapist fled, he was seen to be wearing a distinctive red baseball cap.

Mr McElroy: "The woman remained on the ground, crying and curled into a ball."

Officers found Oviasogie in Justice Mill Lane about an hour later, still wearing the cap. His jeans and trainers were also mud-stained - but he denied being involved in the attack.

Edith Forrest, defending, said: "He was out after work with colleagues. He said he consumed a lot of alcohol, which he was not used to indulging in.

"He accepts he was showing off to a degree to his peers, which demonstrates a level of immaturity at the time. He says he often thinks of the victim and the impact this will have had on her."

'Dangerous predator'

Judge John McCormick told him: "You assaulted and raped a lone female as she walked home in Aberdeen.

"You used force to hold her down and ignored her screams for help."

Oviasogie will also be monitored for a further three years on his release, and will be on the sex offenders list indefinitely.

Det Ch Insp Karen Main of Police Scotland said it was a "horrendous" attack, and described Oviasogie as "a dangerous predator".

She added: "A young woman is dealing with the trauma of what happened to her that night and I hope that knowing Oviasogie is no longer a threat to other women gives her some sort of solace as she moves forward with her life."

Description

A man who admitted raping an 18-year-old woman after being on the run for eight years has been jailed.

Remus Covaciu, 28, attacked the teenager outside a club in Aberdeen in January 2013.

A European Arrest Warrant was granted in July 2020 and the Romanian national was extradited from France to Scotland in April last year.

Covaciu was jailed for three years and nine months at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday.

He admitted rape, failing to show for an earlier hearing, and breaching bail.

Seen on CCTV

Prosecutor John McElroy had previously told the High Court in Glasgow that the victim went to a friend's birthday party and then to Institute nightclub in Aberdeen's Bridge Street.

After leaving the club, she was seen on CCTV sitting on the pavement as Covaciu approached.

Covaciu, who lived in the Torry area of the city at the time, was seen talking to the teenager before raping her.

A CCTV operator alerted police to the victim in the street.

Mr McElroy said: "When officers arrived, she was intoxicated, in a dishevelled state and had no recollection [of being attacked].

"Covaciu was traced to a nearby shop by police."

He was held in custody that night and appeared in court days later.

'Prolonged her suffering'

Covaciu failed to turn up to his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in November 2013 and failed to sign in at a police station twice while on bail.

A warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was later traced to France, where he had settled with his partner and two children.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran QC said: "He hopes upon his release he will be able to continue his family life. He accepts he must be punished."

Judge Lady Drummond told Covaciu: "You are a first offender and were 19 when this offence occurred. You raped a young woman while she was so intoxicated as to be incapable of refusing or giving consent.

"This young woman was a stranger to you before you committed this offence. You took advantage of her vulnerability for your own sexual gratification."

She added: "I have read the victim impact statement from the complainer. It is apparent from that that your crime has had a profound impact on her. The delay caused by your departure has prolonged her suffering."

Covaciu was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Description

A man who was found guilty of sending an indecent image of himself to an underage girl online has been placed on the sex offenders register for three years.

Scott Gerrard faced accusations that he chatted to a 13-year-old decoy called Ruby and sent her a picture of his private parts despite knowing she was a child.

A trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 35-year-old chatted to the decoy account for months after it was created by a member of a paedophile hunter group.

Despite evidence that Gerrard had shared a number of personal details, he maintained he was a victim of catfishing when a stranger steals someones identity online.

Gerrard insisted that an American woman known as Gwen had stolen his identity and personal images of him and it was actually her who was chatting to the decoy.

During the trial, fiscal depute Sean Ambrose described Gerrards claims as spurious.

Sheriff Morag McLaughlin later found Gerrard guilty of one charge that he caused a person he believed to be under the age of 16 to view an image of an indecent and sexual nature and attempt to communicate indecently with a child.

She told Gerrard she didnt find his catfishing claim to be credible.

The fiscal depute described a private online chat between Ruby and Scotty that began on July 5 2020 and ended on September 3 2020.

The chat log showed that Scotty was aware of the age of the decoy teenager prior to sending unsolicited sexual messages.

He then asked the 13-year-old decoy if she would like to see his private parts before forwarding an image of himself.

One message from Scotty to the girl stated: Would you like to see it, maybe? Would it make me a paedo if I did?

Accused feels shame and embarrassment

Prior to Gerrard being sentenced, defence agent Liam McAllister described his clients behaviour as deeply disturbing and that it has had an impact on his family.

He added that Gerrard feels shame and embarrassment in relation to his crimes.

Sheriff McLaughlin sentenced Gerrard, of Garthdee, to a community payback order with supervision for three years and ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

She also ordered him to take part in a sex offenders programme and placed him on the sex offenders register for three years.

Description

A man caught with more than a thousand images and videos of sadistic child abuse has avoided prison.

Lee Burnett claimed he had not deliberately sought out the vile images but had been sent them on messaging app Kik.

The 32-year-old had initially deleted hundreds of images but latterly took to ignoring the messages.

Fiscal depute Brian Young told Aberdeen Sheriff Court police executed a search warrant at Burnetts Fraserburgh address at 9am on April 16 last year after receiving intelligence in relation to the offence.

A systematic search was carried out and a Samsung phone and black tablet were recovered and examined.

A total of 686 category A, the most serious kind, images were found, as well as 571 category B and 218 category C images.

He was being sent this material and deleted it

All but 14 of the images were inaccessible, meaning they had been deleted.

However, 109 category A videos, along with 16 and 12 in categories B and C respectively, were also found, all of which were still accessible.

The images depicted children ranging from babies to 15-year-olds, including sexual activity with adults and sadistic sexual activity.

The videos, which had a total play length of almost two hours and 20 minutes, showed children between the ages of 2 and 14 engaged in sexual activity with adults and sadistic sexual activity.

Officers examining the tablet also found a Kik account which showed Burnett had been engaged in conversations with other users about indecent images of children and that indecent images had been shared over this platform.

Burnett, of Rowan Place, Fraserburgh, pled guilty to taking, permitting to be taken or making indecent images of pseudo-images of children between January 5 and April 8 last year.

Defence agent Stuart Flowerdew told the court his client appeared with no previous convictions.

You have never previously been in trouble

He explained Burnett had been sent the images over Kik and had not searched for them himself, adding: The type of material referred to is certainly not what he was seeking.

There were large numbers of inaccessible images, which had been effectively deleted.

He was being sent this material and deleted it, and then latterly just ignored it.

Sheriff Graham Buchanan said: Its acknowledged he was not searching for this type of material.

Addressing Burnett directly, he went on: I take the view here that I could not say a custodial sentence is absolutely inevitable in this case, partly due to the particular circumstances in which you came to commit this offence.

You have never previously been in trouble, and now, at 32 years of age, I think a more effective, positive way of dealing with you for this matter would be to impose a robust community sentence.

As a direct alternative to custody, the sheriff imposed three years of supervision, 140 hours of unpaid work and a requirement to complete the Moving Forward, Making Changes programme.

He also made Burnett subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.

Description

A COPs career was in ruins after he admitted sick sex attacks on five female officers.

Ross Campbell, 44, repeatedly assaulted his colleagues during boozy nights out.

Hes now on the sex offenders register after he confessed to a catalogue of vile incidents where he fondled and groped his victims.

Fiscal Alan Townsend said: The accused was a temporary sergeant. The complainers were police constables, some working under his authority.

Most of the complainers did not initially report what had happened.

Once one of them came forward others agreed to do the same after being approached by an investigating officer.

Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told about an incident in September 2019 during a night out in the city for Campbells birthday.

Mr Townsend said: The complainer felt a slap on her buttocks. The accused just laughed. He slapped her buttocks another two or three times without her consent.

The court heard Campbell groped a female officer five times in one night during a drunken session in Dundee and struck again on the train home.

A colleague warned him that word was spreading of him being handsy.

In a message Campbell, from the Cove area of Aberdeen, replied: Okay thanks bud. Was pretty wasted. Feel like sh** hearing this. I shouldnt have put myself in that position FFS.

But in February 2020 he said a victim was giving him vibes before he fondled her privates through her clothing in a bar.

He messaged her later and tried to play down what hed done. He said: Sorry if I was bugging you. Usual shambles of a police night out.

She went to cops and Campbell was arrested by fellow officers at Police Scotlands Aberdeen HQ.

He was supposed to go on trial yesterday but avoided that after he admitted the attacks. He was cleared of another three incidents.

The court was told that one of his victims claimed Campbell was a really nice guy when sober.

His solicitor Gareth Jones said: Mr Campbell offers an unreserved apology to all of the complainers in this case.

Beak Graham Buchanan deferred sentence until next month.

Superintendent Lorna Ferguson of Police Scotlands Professional Standards Department, said: "We are aware of the outcome of the case.

The matter will be referred to the Deputy Chief Constable for Professionalism, Digital and Transformation for consideration under the Police Service of Scotland (Conduct) Regulations 2014.