A housebreaker persuaded a child to crawl through a tunnel to break through the trapdoor of a Perthshire church during a nationwide crime spree.
Andrew Park “induced” a child in his care to enter a tunnel and carry out a crime at Blackford Parish Church in February.
The child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was seven-years-old at the time of the crime.
The court heard the child now suffers from a fear of the dark and other behavioural problems as a result of being asked to squeeze through the dark tunnel.
Park pleaded guilty to breaking into Blackford Parish Church, stealing metal clamps, bells, crockery and overturning the church pulpit in February.
Blackford Parish Church was closed indefinitely after the ransacking and suffered further disruption after asbestos was found in the building in March.
Worshippers were turned away from the 19th-century building the Sunday after the raid when they arrived for their morning service.
The items stolen from the church had a value of more than £2,000, and parish Reverend Mairi Perkins said she was left “in tears” after discovering the kirk had been damaged.
The seasoned housebreaker was caught in the Highlands after going on a Scotland-wide crime spree with partner Louise Coburn, which saw him break into locked sheds, boats and a hotel.
Park had originally appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court on petition, before being committed for further examination and remanded.
The court heard Park, of Aberuthven, pleaded guilty at the first diet and admitted to having the young child crawl through the tunnel and stealing the items when being interviewed by the police.
Park also pleaded guilty to breaking into a shed and stealing a number of items in, forcing open a locked boat and stealing items.
He also admitted to breaking into the Smoo Cave hotel in Durness and stealing an iPod, an iPad, money, a meat cleaver, photographs, cables and a card machine over a two-day crime raid in Sutherland in the north of Scotland.
Park’s defence solicitor told the court his client committed the crimes in order to obtain money as a result of his poor financial situation.
Park admitted a charge of exposing a child to unnecessary suffering, two charges of theft by housebreaking, one of attempted theft by housebreaking, and a charge of forcing open a lock fast place, all between February 4 and 8.
Louise Coburn, Park’s partner at the time, admitted two charges of reset — one involving stolen items from the hotel, and a second of having stolen items from the church at her home address
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael adjourned court until June 6 for criminal and social work reports, and Park was remanded in custody until then.
Coburn was released on bail and ordered to appear at Dundee Sheriff Court on the same date.
