A man has been found guilty of public indecency after he carried out a sex act in the women’s toilets of a popular Aberdeen home furnishings store.
Stewart Murray sneaked into a cubicle at Dunelm on Links Road and “smiled” at the horrified female customer who walked in on him.
The serial sex offender – who was branded “depraved” in 2021 for defecating in a garden in front children – denied the charges, but a jury took just over 10 minutes to find him guilty.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told the 49-year-old was already subject to a court order banning him from female or unisex public toilets at the time of the offence.
Jury told accused carried out act ‘deliberately’
During the two-day trial, the jury heard that on the afternoon of March 10 last year a female shopper entered the public toilets at Dunelm and believed the bathroom to be empty.
However, soon after she heard “rustling”, “heavy breathing” and “sexual noises”.
The woman left the toilet to complain to a member of staff before going back to confront Murray over his behaviour.
Fiscal depute Lucy Simpson told the jury that the female witness claimed she then saw Murray “smile” as she condemned his behaviour.
She said the woman described how Murray “seemed to be pretending to be shocked that he was caught”.
“Was that part of his plan that he knew he would be caught?” Ms Simpson added.
The fiscal told the jury that she believed Murray had either carried out the sex act “deliberately” or that he was “reckless as to whether he would be observed”.
Murray’s defence solicitor John McLeod claimed that his client “hadn’t realised he was in a female toilet” at the time.
He added that upon the woman raising the complaint, Murray waited “half an hour for the police to turn up”, adding: “Why would he do that if he was as guilty as sin?”
The jury, who deliberated for around 12 minutes, found Murray guilty by a majority.
Following the verdict, it was revealed that Murray had previous public indecency convictions dating back to 1992.
Sheriff Andrew Miller told Murray: “The members of the jury have returned their verdict and you have been convicted of this offence.
“The offence in itself is a serious matter and takes on an even more serious character when having regard to your record of previous convictions, which indicated you have a number of convictions for sexual offences or offences involving indecency or one kind of another.
“I am told you were released on licence following your most recent prison sentence in March 2021 and that you were still subject to that licence at the date of this offence.
“I know from your record that one of the conditions of your release prohibited you from entering public toilets of unisex or female designation.”
Sheriff Miller deferred sentence on Murray, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, until next month in order to get a criminal justice social work report and a risk assessment carried out.
He additionally requested that a restriction of liberty assessment and a doctor’s report be carried out on Murray.
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