A creepy Forfar serial sex pest has been jailed for almost 14 months after admitting a plethora of offending in 2024.
Only nine days after being released from his last prison sentence, Gavin Ross ranted about having a gun at Whitehills hospital in Forfar and demanded Valium from staff.
While on bail for that offence, he repeatedly touched his genitals during a bus journey from Dundee to Forfar while sitting beside a frightened teenager.
Ross was locked up after being caught at 10am, standing at his window and handling his exposed private parts, before giving a thumbs up to aghast elderly neighbours.
‘Question mark’ over neurology
Previously, Ross admitted he assaulted a nurse at Whitehills Hospital on July 21 last year by making menacing remarks to her.
Ross admitted he engaged in sexual activity in the presence of a teenager on a bus between Dundee and Forfar, while on bail, on September 26.
On two bail orders, Ross offended again on the morning of November 21 by exposing himself to a married couple in their seventies from within his Strathmore Street home.
In 1999, Ross suffered a serious brain injury in a car crash.
The 44-year-old was referred by his GP to undergo a head scan in December relation to his escalating criminal conduct but missed his appointment due to being behind bars.
Ross’s solicitor Sarah Russo said: “His behaviour has been described as impulsive and reckless.
“Following on from the accident, everything seems to have changed for Mr Ross.
“There have been a number of assessments carried out – I think the majority have accepted that drug and alcohol misuse seem to be at the root of his difficulties.
“Having dealt with Mr Ross over the period, I think there has to be more to it than just that.
“There has been a question mark over neurology.
“Mr Ross is an isolated person. He’s also regularly taken advantage of by people who try to befriend him for money.
“I think he has his own vulnerabilities as well.”
Ms Russo said her client felt he was not being taken seriously at the hospital and the incident at his living room window was accidental.
She added Ross, who suffers mobility issues, had sat beside the teen on the bus as he did not want to go up the steps to the rear of the vehicle.
‘Appalling’ conduct
Ross was brought back to Forfar Sheriff Court from HMP Perth to be sentenced following an interview by social workers.
Sheriff Derek Reekie imposed a total of 414 days imprisonment and placed Ross on the sex offenders register for seven years.
The sheriff labelled Ross’s conduct at the hospital as “appalling.”
“The bus – this was sexual behaviour when you were sitting next to an 18-year-old girl.
“It seems to me this was deliberate sexual behaviour targeting a vulnerable young girl.”
In reference to the incident at the window, the sheriff added: “Your explanation it was accidental makes absolutely no sense.”
Ross’s sentence was backdated to November 25 when he was first remanded.
Growing record
Ross has a lengthy history of nuisance offending.
In 2016, he admitted standing on the A90 central reservation throwing bricks at traffic because he was angry at lorries.
Three years later he was jailed for dancing and exposing himself by the side of the same busy road.
Ross was jailed again in 2022 after a jury at Perth Sheriff Court convicted him of alarming staff at a Forfar bookies.
He stood outside the shop and rubbed his nipples while staring inside.
The same year, he exposed himself to prison guards.
He was also placed on the sex offender register for bothering schoolchildren in Forfar.
Ross has also recently wound up in court for rubbing his nipples on his doorstep and mooning at the town police station after officers seized his sound system.
Latterly, he exposed himself to police after brandishing a brush at staff in The Factory Shop.
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