Shop boss caught on his own CCTV as he assaulted schoolgirl

The boss of an East Neuk convenience store sexually assaulted a 15-year-old customer in view of two of her friends.

Rajiv Sharma’s assault of the girl was also caught on his own CCTV camera.

Sharma, the boss of A&A Stores in Anstruther, reached out and touched the teenager as she walked up an aisle on June 21 this year.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, Sheriff Francis Gill convicted Sharma, of Woodside Avenue in Dundee, of the assault after a trial.

The court heard evidence from the 15-year-old through a video link, in which she described Sharma, 49, touching her abdomen.

Security footage from inside the shop showed the girl and Sharma walking towards each other.

As Sharma passed, he extended an arm and touched the girl’s body.

His solicitor David Duncan suggested there was no case to answer as allegations which appeared in the initial charge that Sharma touched the girl’s breast and made a sexual comment, were not raised in evidence.

However, Sharma was convicted of an amended charge of sexually assaulting the girl by handling her abdomen.

The sheriff deferred sentencing until January for reports. He placed Sharma on the sex offenders register.