Hilltown man who sexually abused child and exposed himself to another spared jail

A pervert who sexually abused a child and exposed himself to another has been spared a prison sentence.

Shaun Mawhinney, 21, indecently touched one of the children at an Angus caravan park before exposing himself to a second youngster at a house in Dundee.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard that the first child told their mother about the incident and that Mawhinney had touched them in a caravan.

The second incident occurred while Mawhinney and the other child were in a bedroom playing an Xbox video game.

Mawhinney said “look at this” before exposing himself to the child while smiling and laughing.

The child ran downstairs and immediately told an adult about what happened.

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Police were later contacted and Mawhinney, a first offender, replied “no comment” to all questions put to him.

Mawhinney, of Hilltown, pleaded guilty on indictment to causing a child to engage in sexual activity at a caravan park in Angus on an occasion between August 24 2017 and August 9 2018 by touching the child indecently and performing a sex act.

On an occasion between April 1 2015 and April 30 2018, Mawhinney exposed himself to a second child at a property in Dundee.

Mawhinney today returned to the dock for sentencing following the preparation of social work reports.

When passing sentence, Sheriff Lorna Drummond QC said: “These are serious offences and I am bound to take into account the gravity of them.

“From the reports I have read, it is quite clear to me that you have had your own difficulties in your life.

“Notwithstanding the seriousness of these offences, I can deal with them by way of a community disposal.

Mawhinney was placed on three years of supervision and ordered to undertake the Tay Project, a rehabilitation scheme for sex offenders.

He was also ordered to perform 230 hours of unpaid work and placed on the sex offender’s register for three years.