A pervert who watched porn and took illicit pictures of passengers on a packed commuter train has been hauled before a court for breaching a court order preventing him deleting files from his phone.
Stephen Smith was caught in 2019 by a fellow passenger as he watched the explicit footage and took pictures of a fellow traveller’s legs without her knowledge.
He was handed a supervision order at Dunfermline Sheriff Court, including the provision that he must not delete files without permission.
This week the court heard although the files he deleted in December 2019 and June 2021 were not of a criminal nature, Smith had breached the order by removing them.
Defence agent Elaine Buist told the court: “There’s never been anything on the phone that appears to be of a criminal nature.
“There’s been no repeat of the original matters.”
She said Smith, who she described as “highly anxious”, had been sending money to others abroad.
The case was deferred for reports.
Sordid admissions
Smith, 43, was originally placed on the Sex Offenders Register after watching explicit videos on the 5.15pm rail service from Edinburgh Gateway to Fife in January 2019.
He was reported to police by another passenger who spotted him viewing the offending video.
It later transpired Smith had also been taking secret photographs of a woman’s legs on the same train.
Defence solicitor Elaine Buist said at the time: “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 nothing sexual in taking the photo of the woman’s legs.
However, at a sentencing hearing in July 2019, 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.”
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.
Sheriff’s warning
At the time of sentencing Sheriff Charles MacNair QC told him: “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.
