A photographer has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting two children at his Perthshire home.
Clint Budgen is accused of assaulting the children, aged between three and six-years-old and 13-years-old between January 2016 and February 2019 and causing a third to hear a sexually explicit communication.
The 49-year-old denies all the charges.
Video recording
Perth Sheriff Court was played video of a police and social worker interview with one of Budgen’s alleged victims, aged six at the time of the recording.
She said she regularly visited Budgen at his house, sometimes while her mother was out at bingo.
The youngster, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said she enjoyed playing with his dog and watching cartoons on his TV.
When asked by Detective Constable Graham Layland, of the Perth-based Child Protection Unit, if there was anything “not so nice” about Budgen, she said: “He rubs me between the legs a bit.”
She told DC Layland he ran his hands over her legs, from her knees to her stomach.
“I was in bed but I had trousers on,” she said.
“He doesn’t get naked, he just changes into his pyjamas. I go out of the room so he can get changed.
“I got to snuggle with him. He says I get five minutes before my mum gets back.”
‘The biggest of death stares’
The court was also played video of a police interview with Budgen’s second alleged victim, then aged 13.
The schoolgirl said several children regularly went to Budgen’s house to play video games.
“I thought it was a bit weird,” she said.
“Like, what the hell is it with all these underage people?”
On one occasion, she said Budgen asked her about her then-boyfriend.
“He said, ‘If you’re going to have sex with him, you should have sex before he turns 16. I was like ‘what?’
“I was only 13, I wasn’t interested. I kind of laughed about it but I was really thinking, ‘that’s not funny’.”
The girl said he slapped her bottom on multiple occasions and each time, she told him not to.
“After the third time, I just sat down and gave him the biggest death stare of all time.
“I think I said, ‘If you do that again, I’m not coming around any more’.”
She later told a friend Budgen had made her feel uncomfortable.
‘It was so weird’
On another occasion at his house, she said Budgen became visibly aroused while he tickled her.
Another time, he showed her a photograph he claimed to have taken of one of the other children’s mothers.
“He brought up these pictures (on his laptop) and he was scrolling through them,” she said.
“It was like porn, basically.
“It was a photo of this woman with her legs open, completely naked. It was so weird.”
The charges
Budgen, of Dunkeld Road, Perth, is accused of lying in bed with a girl, then aged between three and six-years-old, and rubbing her legs.
It is further alleged he slapped a 12-year-old girl’s bottom, tickled her, hugged her and showed her photos of a naked woman.
He is accused of using explicit language when asking her about sexual matters “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, or of humiliating, distressing or alarming” the youngster and encouraging her to engage in unlawful sexual conduct.
Budgen is also accused of causing a third girl, then aged 11, to hear a sexual verbal communication.
All five charges are alleged to have taken place between January 2016 and February 2019 at his then-home in an east Perthshire town.
The trial, before Sheriff Charles McNair, continues.
