A Perth Scout leader has been found guilty of bombarding teenage boys with sexual messages and selfies and is now on the sex offenders register.
A trial heard Stephen Gorton, who led the West Perth Explorer Scouts, told one 15-year-old he would make the “perfect boyfriend” and asked if he was horny, before pestering him to meet up at a city bottle bank.
One victim said the 58-year-old sent a photo of a “bulge” in his trousers and told him he was hot.
He told another youngster his topless selfie was “kinda nice” and sent him a photo of himself in the bath.
The married father-of-two denied the allegations, suggesting the boys had conspired to get him in trouble.
He was found guilty following a two-day trial at Perth Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Alison McKay told Gorton she believed his young victims, who were aged 15 and 16 at the time.
She said Gorton’s own evidence was “quite frankly incredible, implausible and self-serving.”
Gorton, who received the award of Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service in the Scouts’ 2022 roll of honour, was placed on the sex offenders register and will be sentenced next month.
‘Hard’
One teenager – known as Boy A to protect his identity – told the court he got to know Gorton through a local Scout group.
“Before all this happened, he seemed like a very nice person,” he said.
“He was very kind.”
The then-15-year-old began getting bombarded with “concerning” and sometimes lewd messages.
“He said I’d be the ideal boyfriend.
“He asked if I was horny.
“It got quite concerning when it was two or three messages a day.”
The Scout master messaged “morning” and “good night” at the start and end of each day.
In one exchange, Gorton asked Boy A: “Are you out?”
Thinking he meant ‘are you out for a walk?,’ the teen replied “no”.
Gorton responded: “That’s cool. I’m bi.”
When, on another occasion, the boy send a photo of a classmate, Gorton replied: “He’s cute.”
The Scout leader sent a photo of his face with the caption “hard”.
“I took ‘hard’ to mean he was taking about an erection,” said the boy, who added Gorton’s explanation he meant he was “hard as nails” against the weather, was unlikely.
The young witness said the “tipping point” came when Gorton invited him to meet at a bottle bank, near a Perth school.
“That’s when it got very concerning,” he said. “It was very strange he was making these comments.”
Boy A told prosecutor Stuart Hamilton he felt uncomfortable, shocked and confused.
He said: “It didn’t feel right but I didn’t think I was in danger or anything because I knew him so well.”
The boy said he was reluctant to go to the police.
“The main reason I didn’t report it was there was a big Scout trip coming up and I didn’t want it to be cancelled.”
When asked by defence agent Steve Lafferty if Gorton was just being supportive, the boy replied: “He was being supportive but at the same time he was saying some very concerning things.”
The court heard the schoolboy did not show the messages to police until after they had started investigating a similar complaint from another teenager.
Photo of ‘distinguishable bulge’
Another schoolboy – Boy B – told the trial how Gorton had also messaged him on Snapchat.
“He said I was handsome and I was making him blush,” the 16-year-old said.
Asked how he felt about the message, the teenager replied: “I was worried and a bit scared.”
Boy C told the trial he was also contacted by Gorton on Snapchat.
“He was saying things like ‘you’re cute’ and ‘you’re fit,’ which I thought was really weird.”
The court heard Gorton sent a topless selfie, including an image of him on a bed and a photo of his trousers showing a “distinguishable bulge”.
A screenshot of one exchange was shown in court.
In it, Gorton messaged: “I’m bi and happy to help you in any way you’d like.”
He added: “I’m very discreet, will you be too please.”
This was followed by: “Just know that you are hot” with a smiley face emoji.
The court heard how Gorton responded immediately after receiving a notification that his Snapchat texts had been screenshotted.
“He was panicking,” the boy said. “He was asking me not to tell anyone, saying things like ‘can we forget about this?’ and ‘can we go back a day.'”
The boy, who described Gorton as a “weirdo,” denied they were “ganging up on him to set him up”.
‘A middle-aged man sending a 16-year-old boy a picture of him in a bath isn’t banter’
A fourth teenager – Boy D – said he received messages from Gorton after sharing an image to multiple friends on Snapchat, when he was 16.
Gorton sent him a selfie with the caption: “Nice. It’s funny to see you with no top on.”
This was followed by another picture, the words “kinda nice” and a winking face emoji with its tongue out.
The boy received further images, including a photo of Gorton in the bath and one showing his bare foot.
Asked why he thought this was strange, the boy replied: “I work with young people and I would never think of messaging them a picture of any bare part of my body.”
When Mr Lafferty asked if this was just banter, the boy responded: “A middle-aged man sending a 16-year-old boy a picture of him in a bath isn’t banter.”
Broken headphones defence
Gorton accepted he should not have contacted the boys on a one-to-one basis but he denied sending messages for his own sexual gratification or to cause distress.
Questioned by Mr Hamilton about how a comment like “I’m hard” to a 15-year-old boy could be perceived, Gorton said: “I was not being truly ignorant of that, but I did not use the phrase in that sense.”
Gorton denied he told Boy A he was “horny” in a phone conversation, blaming his Apple Airpods were malfunctioning and he actually said: “I can’t hear you.”
He said he did not know Boy B and “did not believe” he had called him handsome.
Gorton told the court he told Boy C he was “fit, hot and cute” but said he had only been mimicking the Snapchat messages he sent him first.
“I was flattered,” he said. “And I was stupid to respond in exactly the same manner.”
In his evidence, the boy said he never sent such messages to Gorton.
The former Scout leader went on to describe his “kinda nice” comment to Boy D as “trite,” adding: “I believe it was mildly inappropriate but I didn’t believe it was illegal. It wasn’t sexual in any sense.”
He accepted he may have sent him an image of himself in the bath.
“It was stupid – it’s just where I happened to be at the time.”
Gorton said he sent a photo of his torso from the neck down because “I’m pretty incompetent at sending selfies.”
The court heard how the Scout leader quit Snapchat with the message: “Dudes, you’re great fun but I don’t think this is a good place for me to chat.
“I’m over 18 by a long shot and you’re not.”
He added: “I’m probs going to say something I shouldn’t to be honest. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Gorton was found guilty of two counts of intentionally sending sexual communications to older children and two of communicating indecently in 2023 and 2024.
A Scouts spokeswoman confirmed Gorton was no longer involved with the youth organisation.
The court heard Gorton, now of Butterfly Way, Edinburgh, has since separated from his wife.
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