Kinross man made lewd comments to youngsters at gym

A Fife fitness instructor cleared of playing Nazi-style music and urging children to salute, made sexual comments to teenagers in his gym.

Paul Kerr, 49, was found guilty of repeatedly making the lewd remarks to the three girls, aged 15 and 14, and a boy, aged 16, at the time.

The offences occurred between February 2017 and July 2018 at the PJK MMM centre in Glenrothes.

Jurors returned a not proven verdict to the allegation that Kerr played Nazi-style music, expressed his appreciation of Hitler, wore clothing with a swastika symbol and encouraged youngsters to march and salute him.

Kerr had also been accused of sexually assaulting three women, one girl and a man at the gym in Lomond Business Park, but the charges were also found not proven.

Three further charges of making sexual comments to people in the gym and five of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, two involving making racist remarks, were also not proven.

Kerr, of Townhill Apartments, Kinross, was found not guilty of a further 15 charges against him, one of them a sexual assault alleged to have occurred at an address in Leslie.

Following a trial lasting almost five weeks at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, Kerr was placed on the sex offenders register.

Sentence was deferred until October 22 for a background report.

Kerr’s advocate Susan Duff asked Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist QC to request a criminal justice social work report.

She said: “My purpose in doing so is to ask for your lordship to have in mind a possible sentence of a community payback order with offender supervision order.”

Sheriff Gilchrist told Kerr he remained at liberty meantime and added: “However, I have to tell you that as a result of your conviction you now will be subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.”