INVERNESS SHERIFF COURT: Serial Inverness sex offender caught hanging around highland swimming pool
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A serial child sex offender from Inverness has been jailed for deliberately loitering around a Highland swimming pool.
Convicted paedophile Scott Murray (36) claimed to staff at the Macdonald Spey Valley Resort in Aviemore that he needed to charge his phone and electronic cigarette.
However he spent two hours hanging around in the reception area while the items were charging.
During this time he was seen looking through a glass window at the swimming pool area and later found to have propped a window open in the toilets.
Murray, who has previously served an 18 month jail sentence for possessing extremely graphic videos involving children aged one to three years old, is forbidden from entering such places unless granted police permission.
Of the videos 99 of them were of the most graphic and depraved kind, a court heard previously.
He was previously put under a 10 year long Sexual Harm Prevention Order which was granted at Inverness on July 20, 2015.
And in March, 2017 he was released early from a 21 month jail sentence for peeking at boys in a leisure centre.
Murray, described as a prisoner at Barlinnie, has now appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court on indictment where he admitted going into Aviemore hotel's leisure centre in breach of the court order under the sexual offences act.
He also admitted threatening and abusive behaviour at the resort, which is also known as Dalfaber Golf and Country Club.
The court heard he was shouting, swearing, muttering, laughing and uttering threats while in the lobby area on March 14 this year.
At one point he started yelling about “aliens” and other random phrases.
Fiscal depute Susan Love said: “The accused is a registered sex offender.
“He would have to ask permission from the police if he wanted to attend a swimming pool.
“Around 4pm on the day he became known to staff at the front door of the country club.
“He said he needed to charge his phone and his vape.
“He was seen making remarks about 'my head' and 'aliens and planets' as well as going to the glass door over the swimming pool area.”
Inverness Sheriff Court heard he also used the toilets several times after staff gave him a charging device.
When he finally left staff found a window had been left ajar in the toilets to the leisure centre.
Solicitor William Young said his client was intending to go swimming in the Aviemore area on the day in question.
Mr Young said: “During the course of the day he realised he needed to charges his phone and his vape.
“Even if Mr Murray had wanted to access the facilities he would needed to have made arrangements or prove he was a guest at the hotel.”
Mr Young added: “There were no individuals in the swimming pool at the time for what it's worth.”
Sheriff Robert Frazer said the record of previous convictions before him meant only one option was open to him – a custodial sentence.
The sheriff said: “I note that this is your twelfth conviction under this section of the sexual offences act.
“You knew exactly what you were doing when you attended the Macdonald Hotel leisure centre.
“It seems to me you simply cannot stop this type of offending and therefore you are a danger to the public.”
Murray was jailed for 20 months.
