Locations
Strathaven, Lanarkshire, ML10, Scotland
Description
Retired businessman Hamish McCall stopped his car outside a Lanarkshire school as children were leaving and was later arrested after two children gave statement to police.
A retired auctioneer who performed a sex act outside a primary school has been spared jail.
Hamish McCall, 66, stopped his car outside the school in Hamilton as children were leaving.
Pupils from a nearby secondary school also spotted former company director McCall in the vehicle.
A supermarket worker saw the group pointing and laughing but was left sickened when he realised McCall had his trousers down.
He noted the registration plate before McCall, a former president of the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers in Scotland, sped off.
Two school children also gave statements to police and an investigation led to his arrest.
McCall, of Strathaven, was convicted of intentionally engaging in sexual activity in the presence of the two children in February 2020 after a trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.
He has been put under supervision for 18 months by Sheriff Moira MacKenzie and also placed on the sex offenders' register for the same period.
In evidence, McCall, a former golf club captain, claimed he had stopped to answer his mobile phone and insisted he had done nothing wrong.
He said: "I have no interest in schools whatsoever, I went up past it to avoid congestion in Hamilton and had to answer my phone.
"I do have a habit of rubbing the top of my leg while I'm on the phone but no way would I have exposed myself.
"When I was interviewed by the police I was totally flabbergasted by what was happening because I had done nothing wrong, the wind had been taken right out my sails."
McCall retired in 2020 after a 48 year career in agriculture.
A source said: "McCall has been highly respected both professionally and in his community but his reputation lies in ruins."
Giving evidence to depute fiscal Alice Carey, a 14-year-old girl said: "I saw a man in the car and his pants were down and his trousers were open down to his waist.
"I don't know how long it went on for but I looked away after about 10 seconds.
"It made me feel embarrassed and it felt quite disgusting. I had just turned 14 and I was quite shocked when I got home because I'd never seen anything like that before."
A 13-year-old boy added: "I saw an old man in a car with his phone out and his hand was moving up and down."
Brian Fitzpatrick, defending, said: "It's hard to know how to address the court when Mr McCall is a 66-year-old man with no previous convictions."
Sheriff MacKenzie said: "The sentence will be one of a community payback order and you will be subject to supervision for the next 18 months."