A bingo hall sex attacker walked into a police station carrying a knife in a deliberate bid to get locked up – because he claimed he was being “bullied” by neighbours over his conviction.
David Dunn was found guilty in May 2015 of sexually assaulting a 58-year-old woman – grabbing her as she sat alone on a couch at the Mecca Bingo hall in Dundee’s Nethergate and telling her she had “beautiful eyes”.
Immediately after that assault, Dunn went outside and targeted another woman, grabbing the 24-year-old’s bottom.
Dunn is now facing a jail term for his latest offence.
Depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson told Dundee Sheriff Court that Dunn had previous convictions for carrying a knife as well as breach of the peace and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
She said: “At about 6.20pm hours on July 3 last year the accused approached the public counter at police headquarters in Bell Street, Dundee.
“He paced up and down the reception area whilst removing a large kitchen knife from his jeans pocket.
“A member of staff approached him and asked if he was OK.
“He said ‘I need arrested, the weapon is for my protection’.
“The member of staff asked him to give her the knife and he agreed, sliding it through a hatch at the reception area to give it to her.
“When charged the accused repeatedly told the officers that he was depressed and needed help.”
Dunn, 48, of Foundry Lane, Dundee, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of possessing a knife at police HQ on July 3 2016.
Defence solicitor Kevin Hampton said: “He felt he was being bullied by friends and neighbours who had learned of his conviction.
“He wanted to get out of his property and move and he felt the only way to do that was to get taken into custody, so this is what he did.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentence on Dunn until later this month for social work background reports and released him on bail meantime.
He was placed on the sex offenders register in 2015 for the bingo hall attacks.
A trial heard that one of the women was sitting on a couch inside Mecca Bingo when Dunn approached her saying she had “beautiful eyes.”
He then squeezed the top of her leg for a few seconds.
The second woman said Dunn asked to buy a cigarette from her outside the bingo hall and then groped her.
