A man who stripped naked at a roadside in front of a group of teenage girls has been placed on the sex offenders’ register for three years.
Finlay Maciver will be supervised during that time and is not allowed to be alone with anyone under the age of 16.
The 42-year-old must also undertake the joint sex offenders programme and receive counselling for his alcohol and debt problems.
He was also banned from driving for two years and fined £750 for being drunk in charge of a van.
Sentencing Maciver at Fort William Sheriff Court today, Sheriff Richard Davidson, described his behaviour as “disgusting”.
The sheriff told him: “While I recognise a considerable amount of remorse on your part, this was a shocking episode for the people concerned.
“It was completely irresponsible and disgusting.”
Maciver, of 10 Inverlochy Court, Inverlochy, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at the town’s sheriff court to exposing himself in front of three girls, aged 13 or 14.
He also admitted being in charge of a car while more than three times the legal alcohol limit.
Both offences were committed on the Glen Nevis Road at Fort William on April 21.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Robertson told the earlier hearing that the girls, who were part of a larger group of young people, saw Maciver standing naked by his van at about 1pm touching himself.
She said the group shouted at him to put his clothes on and get back in the van, but he did not do so.
Ms Robertson said one of the girls called the police because she was “disgusted” by his behaviour.
She added that police arrived and found Maciver naked in the back of the van and smelling strongly of alcohol.
Defence solicitor Stephen Kennedy said his client was drinking up to three bottles of wine a day at the time of the offence and now realised he had a drink problem for which he was seeking help.
Mr Kennedy today said his client, who had been suffering from stress due to serious debts, had “virtually no recollection” of the offence and described his feelings about what he had done as “shock, shame and embarrassment.
He said: “It is clear that alcohol is not the only problem from which he has been suffering, but it was clearly a major factor in his behaviour on this occasion.”
