Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Sheriff tells Aberdeen Peeping Tom his case is one of the most disturbing he’s ever dealt with

Ronald Pirie
Ronald Pirie

A sheriff told a Peeping Tom that his “depraved” catalogue of sex offences was among the most disturbing he had witnessed in 30 years.

Ronald Pirie admitted carrying out a horrific string of offences, stretching across almost a decade, when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.

The 49-year-old confessed to “covertly recording” women while they were changing at the city’s Beach Leisure Centre and filming an underage girl while she showered.

The former oil and gas worker was sentenced to 25 months in prison, and will remain on the sex offender’s register for 10 years.

Pirie, of Johnston Gardens in Peterculter, faced 13 separate charges – but was only convicted of nine.

Prosecutors accepted a not guilty plea to an allegation that he had attached cameras to his shoes in order to record footage looking up women’s dresses.

His behaviour came to light when he sent a colleague at the Senergy oil and gas firm in Aberdeen some “disturbing” footage two years ago.

Pirie admitted presenting Matthew Rothnie with a USB stick containing footage of a woman “engaged in sexual activity with a dog”.

And on September 23, 2015, he intentionally caused two others to look at “extreme pornography” online.

Fiscal, Jamie Dunbar, related a troubling incident where Pirie filmed himself watching child pornography next to a sleeping woman.

Pirie’s solicitor, Iain Hingston, said his client had returned from a job as a boat captain in the Philippines to answer the charges.

Mr Hingston said: “He came to face justice, he has considerable insight into the revulsion he now feels about what he has done.

“He is looking for explanations, particularly regarding the material involving children.

“He is embarrassed and ashamed, but he doesn’t seek pity.”

Sheriff Graeme Napier offered none as he sentenced Pirie.

The veteran sheriff said: “This is one of the most disturbing cases I have dealt with, given the wide-ranging nature of these offences and the length of time over which they were perpetrated.

“It is one of the more unusual cases I have had to deal with in my 30 years as a sheriff.

“The behaviour is such that, in an earlier time, it would have been described as depraved.

“There was a controlling element, which makes it all the more insidious.”