A self-confessed “creep” from Fife, banned from unsupervised contact with children, has admitted he sexually assaulted a seven-year-old in her own bed.
Brandon Swindells pled guilty to the attack, which took place in the early hours of the morning after a party in Kirkcaldy.
Disgraced former support worker Swindells took the chance when everyone else was asleep to enter sneak into a child’s bedroom and abuse her.
He has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register again and will be sentenced next month.
Swindells, 28, of East Street in St Monans, pled guilty to sexually assaulting the schoolgirl in the early hours of February 4 last year.
He admitted entering her bedroom in Kirkcaldy while she was in bed and rubbing his hand on her stomach, leg and groin area, under her clothing.
He also admitted breaching special bail conditions to which he was made subject in January 2022.
Following a hearing at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in relation to child abuse files he later admitted possessing, dad Swindells had been released on the basis he had no unsupervised contact with any children under 16, except his own.
While he carried out his sick attack, he breached the condition by being unsupervised in the room with his victim in the top bunk and another child in the bottom bunk.
‘Frantic’ girl woke mum
Fiscal depute Christine Allan explained Swindells and others were invited to the house for a party and they spent the night drinking.
Two children had initially been playing upstairs but went to bed in bunk beds.
In the early hours of the morning, the mother of Swindells’ victim went to bed but was woken by the child in a “frantic” state.
The child said: “Brandon keeps coming in our room.”
The girl then explained where Swindells had touched her.
Swindells was confronted and described as not “making much sense.”
He was told to phone a taxi home but then began punching himself and throwing his phone around.
He sat on the sofa apologising and eventually got in a taxi someone else phoned.
In text messages he sent the next day to someone who was not at the party, Swindells said: “I’m just a f***ing creep but I’m not smashed most of the time.
“I can’t believe all this. That explains why I came back and smashed my flat up last night.”
He later handed himself into police and told officers: “I need locked up, I’ve done something terrible.”
Sentencing deferred
In court this week, Swindells’ solicitor Iain McCafferty explained his client is still subject to a community payback order imposed in connection with the indecent images case.
Sheriff Robert More deferred sentencing until April 24 and made Swindells subject to sex offender registration requirements again.
The sheriff noted the accused has never been jailed before.
He said praised the “decorum” of members of Swindells’ victim’s family, who watched proceedings from the public gallery.
“Whilst the narrative that has been given is distressing for all to hear, that distress must pale in comparison to the distress that must be felt by those closest.
“Addressing the charges, plainly a sexual assault of a young child is of a very significant gravity, not just in of itself but having regard to the circumstances in which it was committed.”
Sick phone images
In March last year, weeks after the attack, Swindells admitted taking or making indecent images of children between August and December 2021.
Police raided his former home in Westwood Avenue, Kirkcaldy on December 10 2021 after obtaining information sick files had been downloaded there.
On his mobile phone, officers found a Category A image and a Category C image, which were still accessible.
Further analysis showed another five Category A, two Category B and 16 Category C pictures had all been deleted from the device but thumbnails accessed by police proved the files had existed there.
They included children between the ages of seven and 14 being abused by adults and in sexualised poses.
On that occasion, Mr McCafferty said the material was the result of “drunken browsing” and he has since abstained from alcohol.
He added: “He was previously in full time employment as a support worker.
“Due to the allegations, that job was lost to him. He now finds himself in receipt of benefits.”
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