A Kirkcaldy man has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl over a five-year period.
Blyth Stevenson groped the girl as she swam in public swimming pools.
The abuse began when the girl was 11 years old and took place in a house in Glenrothes and two leisure centres in the area.
Stevenson, 67, of Banchory Cottages, Kirkcaldy, was found guilty of two charges after a jury trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
On various occasions between August 6 1988 and August 5 1989 at a house in Glenrothes he used lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards a girl, then aged 11. On various occasions between August 6 1989 and August 5 1993, at a house in Glenrothes and at leisure centres in Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes, he used lewd, indecent and libidinous practices against the same girl.
The victim told the trial that when she would threaten to tell an adult about the abuse, Stevenson would laugh and say they would not believe her.
It was January 2015 before the victim told a relative about what had happened to her as a child and later that year she reported the matter to police.
The abuse and the trauma of telling relatives about it has had a devastating effect on the victim, she told the court.
She said after telling the relative she was off work for six months, adding: “I couldn’t leave the house.”
The witness became upset during her evidence and described her ordeal as “a nightmare”.
Stevenson was placed on the sex offenders register and will be sentenced on August 7.