A serial flasher exposed himself to three women on a remote Perthshire woodland trail.
Ionel Sara-Lates was found hiding in a bush with his trousers at his ankles at a popular dog walking route near Luncarty.
The spate of sightings prompted a social media alert and a plea from Police Scotland for witnesses and dash-cam footage.
The 37-year-old, from Spittalfield, denied he was the man responsible but he was found guilty of three counts of public indecency following a trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
Trouser-less in a bush
The trial heard from a 37-year-old woman who encountered Sara-Lates on May 11 2021.
She said she had been walking along a footpath with her 18-month-old niece.
“It must have been about 2.45pm, because I was heading to school to pick up the kids,” she said.
“I was walking along when I noticed a gentlemen in a bush.
“He was squatting down, then he stood up and then went back down.”
She could see he had no trousers or underwear on.
“I just grabbed my niece and walked on,” she said
Asked by fiscal depute Duncan McKenzie if the man said anything to her, she said: “I’m sure he apologised.
“He said ‘I’m sorry,’ when he stood up.”
‘Do you have an issue?’
A second woman said she saw Sara-Lates on the same footpath at about 1.30pm that day.
The 46-year-old was working at a local care home and had gone for a walk on her lunch hour.
She said she saw Sara-Lates “standing there, with just a top on and nothing on beneath.”
He was in a bush, which appeared to be taller than him, she said.
“I was shocked but I kept on walking,” the witness told the court.
“I thought he asked me if I had an issue.”
Long johns
The trial also heard from a 40-year-old dog walker who spotted Sara-Lates in “long john-style bottoms” at about 2.30pm.
She said: “It was strange because you would normally wear something else on top of those.”
A fourth witness, 55, said she saw Sara-Lates while walking her dog a few days later, at 10.20am on May 15.
“I heard a rustling noise coming from a bush.
“I know we’ve got foxes in there, so I had a quick look. That’s when I saw the accused.
“He was crouching down and I could see his bare legs. I saw his face and then dashed away.”
The woman said the man looked at her and said: “Oh s***.”
Witness appeal
Sheriff Paul Brown told Sara-Lates: “I believed the witnesses. I thought their evidence was credible and reliable.
“This was, in my view, a strong circumstantial case.”
Sentence was deferred for background reports until May 3 at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Police Scotland issued a plea for witnesses following a spate of similar incidents around the same area in Luncarty in May 2021.
A spokesman said at the time: “This was a distressing incident for each of these women and officers are working to trace the man responsible as soon as possible.”
Investigators described their suspect as wearing “tight sports leggings” and said he was driving a black pick-up truck with orange writing on the side.
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