The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Abuse trial told of Perth snapper’s sex chat with girl
AP e r t h photographer accused of sexually assaulting two children told police he “maybe overstepped the boundary” when chatting to a girl aged 12 about sex.
Clint Budgen, 49, claimed she asked for period advice.
He asked her about the pill and discussed her relationship with her boyfriend, about to turn 16.
He said in a police interview he told her “anything more than a peck on the cheek” could be seen as sexual.
“It wasn’t like I was encouraging them to have sex. I was telling them not to.”
The trial at Perth Sheriff Court heard Budgen had an “open doors policy” at his previous address and children would stop by to play video games.
Jurors were shown footage of Budgen’s interview with police.
Asked if he is sexually attracted to children, he said: “The idea repulses me.”
It is alleged Budgen showed a girl a photo of a naked adult woman.
He told police the girl had his laptop and clicked a folder marked “Explicit”.
“She saw for a brief second a nude woman,” he said. “It was not my intention.”
He denied hugging children but occasionally told them he loved them, police were told.
The court also saw video of a police interview with an 11-year-old girl.
She said Budgen talked to her about “sex education”.
She told police: “He’d talk about it but I tried to change the conversation because it grosses me out.”
Budgen, of Dunkeld Road, Perth, is accused of, at times between January 2016 and February 2019, at his previous address, sexually assaulting a child then aged three to six and lying in bed with her and rubbing her legs and body.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old at times between September and November 2018, by touching her buttocks, tickling and hugging her.
Budgen is accused of causing the same girl to look at an image of a naked adult female, and at other times discussed matters of a sexual nature with her.
It is alleged that, between November 2018 and February 2019, he intentionally and for sexual gratification or to humiliate or alarm an 11-year-old girl, caused her to hear a sexual verbal communication. He denies all charges. The trial continues.