Edinburgh man who molested 'vulnerable' teenage girl in bedroom spared jail

Steven Auld engaged in sexual activity with the girl on repeated occasions over a four week period in Edinburgh in April 2023.

Auld, 52, kissed the young victim on the lips, face and neck and attempted to touch her genitals over her clothing during the vile attacks.

The pervert was eventually snared when a younger child known to the teenager found out what he had been doing and reported him.

Auld pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in sexual activity with the teenage girl when he appeared at a trial hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and returned to the dock for sentencing on Monday.

Steven Auld has been spared a jail sentence. | Alexander Lawrie

Sheriff Charles Walls said: “You have been convicted of a serious sexual offence at indictment level. It was committed while you were in a position of trust.

“The offences against the complainer took place repeatedly over a period of four weeks. The fact the offence took place in a bedroom is an aggravating factor.

“The fact the offending was found out by [a nine-year-old girl] who reported the events is a further aggravating factor.”

Sheriff Walls said the victim was deemed to be “vulnerable” and social work reports stated Auld, now of the city’s Sighthill area, had “attempted to minimise” his offending.

But the sheriff spared Auld a jail term and as an alternative to custody placed him on a community payback order involving three years supervision and 225 hours of unpaid work.

Auld was also placed on the sex offenders register for three years and had a strict conduct requirement issued that includes the condition he is banned from being alone in the company of children. The sheriff imposed a further 40 hours of unpaid work for breaches of bail conditions.

Auld also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of embezzling thousands of pounds while acting as the treasurer at the capital’s Gilmerton Miners’ Club between August 20 and December 31, 2018.

Fiscal depute Gillian Koren said Auld had been a member of the club for three years when he volunteered to cover the treasurer duties that involved banking the bar takings and members’ fees.

The court heard he had told the club’s committee members he had previous experience in the role at a bowling club he was a member of. But discrepancies in the club’s accounts were eventually uncovered and the police were called in to investigate in 2019.

It was found Auld had failed to bank bar takings of around £7,900 and had taken a further £710 from the club safe that he had access to.

As punishment, Sheriff Walls sentenced Auld to a restriction of liberty order where he will be electronically tagged and must stay within his home between 7pm and 7am for the next six months. Auld was also ordered to pay the sum of £8,610.46 back to capital miners’ club he embezzled the cash from as part of a compensation order.