A man has been jailed for nearly three years after carrying out a “deviant” sex act in the women’s toilets of a popular Aberdeen home furnishings store.
Stewart Murray – who gets a sexual thrill from being inside female toilets – was caught inside a cubicle at the Dunelm store on Links Road.
During a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last month, jurors heard Murray “smiled” at the horrified woman who discovered him.
The 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.
The serial sex offender – who was branded “depraved” in 2021 for defecating in a garden in front of children – denied the charges, but the jury took just over 10 minutes to find him guilty.
Today, Sheriff Andrew Miller described Murray as someone who “presents a risk of psychological and sexual harm to all females”.
Upon being sentenced to prison for two years and 11 months, Murray collapsed to the floor as court staff guards led him from the dock.
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”.
‘He knows he needs professional help’
Murray’s defence solicitor claimed that his client “hadn’t realised he was in a female toilet” at the time.
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.
Defence solicitor Sian Grant described her client as having an “extensive record that will worry the court”.
“I think it has to be acknowledged that Mr Murray does suffer from a learning disability and his thinking before committing these offences is skewed slightly.
“There seems to be an underlying theme of him not taking responsibility for his actions.
“For what it’s worth, Mr Murray told me that he knows he needs professional help and he needs to knuckle down and take what support is offered to him.”
‘A lengthy history of deviant behaviour’
Sheriff Miller described Murray’s behaviour as “particularly concerning” due to the “significant sexual aspect” of his behaviour in committing this offence.
He added: “You have a significant record for offences of a sexual of indecent nature, the first of which was in 1992.
“Despite a condition not to enter female public toilets, you committed this offence within a female public toilet on March 10 2022.
“I note that you have a mild learning disability, but it appears you have a lengthy history of deviant behaviour at various toilets around Aberdeen.
“That behaviour has the recurring theme of manipulating the environment around these toilets, including intervening with signage or blocking toilets by putting paper down them, apparently as a means of maximising the chances of you having access to members of the public, specifically females.
“The motivation for your behaviour appears to be quite simply that you get a sense of excitement, exhilaration and sexual arousal from being in female toilets when they are being used by females.”
Sheriff Miller sentenced Murray, whose address was given as HMP Grampian, to a prison sentence of 35 months and ordered him to spend 18 months on licence following his release.
He also placed Murray on the sex offenders register for life.
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