A Fife train commuter who watched pornography on his phone and took pictures of a woman’s legs has been put on the sex offenders register.
Stephen Smith, 40, committed the offences on the 5.15pm rail service from Edinburgh Gateway to Fife.
He was reported to police by another passenger who witnessed his offending.
Administration worker Smith, of Meldrum Court in Dunfermline, admitted displaying sexual images on his phone that could be seen by other members of the public on a train between Dalmeny and Inverkeithing on January 17.
He also admitted secretly taking photographs of the legs of a woman who was sitting opposite him.
When Smith was apprehended by the British Transport Police he admitted viewing images of naked people.
The court heard he also admitted photographing the woman’s legs, adding: “I don’t know what I was doing.”
Defence solicitor Elaine Buist said: “He wasn’t aware anyone else could see the images he was viewing. As far as that was concerned, he thought it was a private matter.”
Smith initially claimed there was no sexual gratification involved in taking the photo of the woman’s legs.
However, when he returned to Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing, Ms Buist said her client had accepted there was a significant sexual element to his offences.
She added: “He’s very embarrassed about the whole situation.”
Sheriff Charles MacNair told Smith: “Unfortunately this type of offending is becoming more prevalent and the attitude of offenders is often the same as yours – that it doesn’t affect anyone else. It does.”
He imposed a community payback order with two years of supervision and 135 hours of unpaid work. Smith was also put on the sex offenders register for two years.
