Man cleared of indecent exposure at outdoor pool

A man accused of exposing himself to children at a swimming pool has been cleared of all charges.

Alexander Shepherd had faced three allegations relating to incidents at Stonehaven open air pool, all of which he denied.

On the final day of the trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court depute fiscal Anne MacDonald said the Crown was no longer seeking a conviction on the charge which claimed Mr Shepherd exposed himself at the pool to children on August 17 last year.

A parent contacted police, claiming to have seen a man expose himself to a number of young boys in the showers of Stonehaven open air pool.

Sheriff Graham Buchanan went on to find Mr Shepherd, of Bedford Road, Aberdeen, not guilty of the remaining two charges.

He had been accused of touching himself and handling his genitals above his clothing while in the presence of two young boys on June 26 last year.

The 61-year-old had also been accused of exposing himself to children on August 6 last year.

Sheriff Buchanan told the court, as he reached his decision on the first charge, that he would disregard the evidence of one of the boys.

He said certain things had the effect of “tainting” his evidence – including a failure by police to carry out the correct procedure when interviewing him.