East Lothian council worker who sexually assaulted sleeping schoolgirl and hid camera in her bedroom jailed
Child abuser who hid secret camera in victim's washing basket jailed for over three years
An East Lothian council worker who molested a schoolgirl as she slept and later placed a covert camera in her bedroom has been jailed for more than three years and placed on the sex offenders register for life.
Grant Leslie, 35, crept into the young victim’s bedroom in the middle of the night and sexually assaulted her while he was looking after her at an address in East Lothian in June 2024.
The terrified child did not tell anyone what had happened to her until she later discovered Leslie had been spying on her after he set up a secret camera pointing towards her bed.
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The teenager found the covert recording device in her washing basket while looking for underwear to put on as she got ready for school six months after she had been attacked.
She told her mother about finding the device and then broke down and confessed that Leslie had previously abused her and the police were immediately notified.
Leslie, of Musselburgh, East Lothian, stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month after denying the allegations but he was eventually found guilty of the depraved sex attack by a jury.
He had changed his plea and admitted his guilt to placing the camera in the child’s bedroom midway through the trial.
The council worker returned to the Capital’s sheriff court for sentencing on Monday, November 2, where defence advocate David Taylor said his client had been forced to flee his home following his conviction.
Mr Taylor told the court a mob had smashed windows at his property and Leslie had to be placed in temporary accommodation as a result.
The lawyer said Leslie had shown “a high level of remorse” for his offending and has been deemed to be “below average of re-offending” by the social work report.
Sheriff Fergus Thomson said Leslie had carried out “a serious abuse of trust” and any sentence must reflect the “protection of the public” and “express the disapproval of your offending behaviour”.
Leslie was jailed for 40 months and has had his name added to the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
The sheriff also imposed a non-harassment order banning Leslie from having any contact with his victim for 10 years.
The schoolgirl told the trial she was in bed sleeping when she was woken by Leslie entering her room several times before he eventually approached her bed around midnight on a date in June 2024.
She said she was facing the wall when she felt Leslie pull the bed covers aside and slide his hand inside her shorts.
The girl also told the jury she had discovered a small camera hidden in her washing basket and pointing towards her bed as she got ready for school around six months later.
The child said she was “disgusted” at finding the device and immediately told her mother about what she had discovered.
The trial heard the victim then broke down and confessed Leslie had abused her as she lay in her bed six months earlier.
Leslie was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old child by penetrating her with his fingers at an address in East Lothian between June 1 and 30, 2024.
He pled guilty to recording the child doing a private act by setting up recording equipment in her bedroom and recording her in a state of undress between December 30, 2023 and December 5, 2024.