A man had been placed on the sex offenders register after he kissed a nine-year-old girl in an Aberdeenshire graveyard.
Charles Stuart, 58, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted approaching the vulnerable child – who has been diagnosed with several learning difficulties – before taking her for a walk in a cemetery.
It was stated that as the pair left the graveyard to walk home, Stuart kissed the child on the mouth.
Stuart, who the court was told is also considered a vulnerable person, told his support worker that he had been “overwhelmed with emotion” and that is why he had kissed the little girl.
Man took child to cemetery
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann told the court that on February 15 2022, the girl had been out playing when she returned home about 6pm and told a relative she was going for a walk.
She then went to a nearby park where she saw Stuart walking his dog.
“He asked her if she wanted to walk with him, which she did, and they began to walk from the park on various roads before entering a cemetery,” Mr McMann said.
“Upon leaving the cemetery, the accused stopped and kissed the complainer on the mouth.”
Stuart then took the girl to a fish and chip shop where he bought her some food before walking back to her home.
Man was ‘overwhelmed with emotion and trust’
As she arrived home, the girl told her relative what had happened, but he noted that she “did not appear stressed”.
The matter was then passed on to one of her support workers who contacted the police.
Upon being questioned and released by police pending further investigation, Stuart called his own support worker and told her the pair had met around eight months before and had began to go on walks and cycles.
He claimed that on the day in question, he had been “overwhelmed with emotion and trust” and that is why he had kissed the girl.
In the dock, Stuart pleaded guilty to one charge of sexually assaulting a child by kissing her on the face and mouth.
‘Actions have consequences’
Defence solicitor Gregor Kelly told the court that “clearly there are issues with Mr Stuart’s notion of boundaries”, adding that this incident has “brought that home to him”.
Mr Kelly said: “He is vulnerable, but he does have an understanding that his actions have consequences, and he accepts it’s important to ensure that there is no further offending of this kind in the community.”
Sheriff Gareth Jones made Stuart subject to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered him to take part in a sex offenders programme.
He also put Stuart, of Church Street, Insch, on the sex offenders register for two years.
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