A man has avoided going to prison after he was spotted apparently filming two 12-year-old girls on an Aberdeen bus.
Clifford Low’s sinister behaviour caught the attention of a fellow passenger, who came to the girls’ aid and confronted the creepy 48-year-old.
Low has now appeared in Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where he admitted causing the children fear and also a number of charity tin thefts from a church and local shop.
Despite Low telling police he had been “silly” and had deleted the footage, his solicitor told the court that he wasn’t actually filming the girls.
Girls believed Low to be filming them on Aberdeen bus
Fiscal depute Georgia Laird told the court the incident happened onboard a number 23 bus as it travelled into the city centre on December 23 2022.
Low got on after the 12-year-olds and sat opposite them.
“The accused was holding his phone and facing the two complainers,” Ms Laird said.
“One of the girls believed he was filming them, which made her feel uncomfortable.”
Another male witness got on and, upon seeing what Low was doing, spoke to the two girls and advised them to get off at the next stop.
He then challenged Low due to his belief that he had been filming the girls, to which Low replied: “Aberdeen is a s***hole city, I have no friends and no one to talk to.”
Cut charity tin from shop counter
Upon alighting from the bus, one of the girls told her mum what happened and she contacted the police.
Low was arrested and taken into police custody where he made the spontaneous admission that “it was silly of me to film the girls” and stated that he had deleted the video.
Ms Laird also told the court about a number of incidents where Low stole charity tins in the city.
At around 2pm on October 27 2022, at a Co-op on Great Western Road, Low walked up to a cashier and enquired about buying cigarettes.
As the cashier turned his back, Low took out some scissors and cut the lanyard that attached a charity tin to the counter then stuck it in his jacket and walked off.
A subsequent review of the CCTV showed Low taking the tin and the police were contacted.
The charity box contained a total of £45.
Church thefts
The court also heard about another series of incidents that took place on January 9 and 12 last year at St Mary’s Cathedral in Aberdeen where Low was spotted by an employee acting suspiciously.
CCTV footage was watched and Low was captured walking to the rear of the building where the charity boxes were kept.
He was seen on the video holding a flashlight while pushing a metal rod through the slot of the charity box before putting something in his pocket.
Those watching the CCTV were unable to confirm how much he had taken from the box.
Three days later, Low was again seen tampering with the charity boxes.
The CCTV was viewed and Low was again seen using the same method to remove £60 from the tin.
In the dock, Low pleaded guilty to three charges of theft and one charge of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner that was likely to cause fear or alarm.
‘It’s completely unacceptable’
Defence solicitor Neil McRobert told the court that his client’s mental health “fluctuates” and, at that time, he had been struggling financially.
He said: “Within his social work report, Mr Low described these thefts as ‘mean spirited’ – that’s an understatement, it’s completely unacceptable.”
In relation to the filming incident, Mr McRobert stated that Low had told him he “hadn’t actually been filming, he was just holding his camera” in the direction of the girls.
“However, he accepts that the young women would have been concerned by that,” the solicitor added.
Sheriff Lesley Johnston told Low: “Although you have previous convictions, there has been a slowdown in your offending, and you have been of good behaviour since these incidents.
“You have also shown remorse, especially in relation to taking the charity money.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Johnston sentenced Low, of Great Northern Road, Aberdeen, to a community payback order with supervision and ordered him to carry out 120 hours unpaid work.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.