Brian Laing 75

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A 73-year-old man who photographed a teenage girls bottom and followed her around Tesco has been given a 12-month supervision order.

Brian Laing appeared for sentencing at Lerwick Sheriff Court today (Wednesday) having pleaded guilty to behaving in a threatening and abusive manner at an earlier hearing.

Laing had photographed the 16-year-old girl in Tesco, Lerwick, on 21st November. He then followed the girl and her 72-year-old grandmother around the store while persistently staring at them.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank found there had been a significant sexual aspect to Laings offence. He therefore subjected Laing, of Staneyhill, Lerwick, to sex offender notification requirements for the length of the supervision order.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said a report prepared for the sentencing showed Laing had made a full and frank admission.

Mr Allan said a supervision order would benefit his client.

Theres going to be some difficult work that he has to deal with, he added.

There are a number of deep-seated issues that he would need to explore.

At the earlier hearing, procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie told the court the incident could be clearly seen on the stores CCTV footage.

Mr Allan previously said his client had suffered six heart attacks and the incident happened before he visited an Aberdeen hospital. He said Laing was on a lot of medication and had no memory of following the girl or taking the image.