An Edinburgh paedophile has been convicted for the third time of turning up in a fake ambulance to offer first aid at family sports events.
Convicted sex offender Wayne Pearson was given a deferred sentence for the latest incident because he claimed he didn’t know children were going to be there.
The 67-year-old, who runs a first aid company and dresses like a paramedic, is banned from working with under-18s after being caught with a cache of downloaded child abuse images, reports the Sunday Mail.
READ MORE - Gordon Ramsay under fire for charging diners £8 for chips at plush restaurant
He ended up in court last week after being caught working at an orienteering race in Perthshire where competitors as young as 10 were taking part.
Despite that, the brazen sex offender continues to drive old ambulances and even drove to his trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court in a paramedic car.
Pearson runs Coast Ambulance And Medical, which offers first aid training and cover at community events to unsuspecting customers who are unaware of his seedy past.
Pearson, a former policeman in his native New Zealand, set up the private service 10 years ago.
A former friend said: “He drives about in these ambulances and can sometimes be seen parked up, drinking tea, like he’s a paramedic having a break.
“What would happen if someone took unwell and flagged him down? They’d have no idea he wasn’t the real thing. This man is a danger but keeps finding ways and loopholes to get access to work with children.”
Pearson was put on the sex offenders’ register and banned from working with children under 18 after he downloaded sick child abuse images at his Edinburgh home in 2016.
He has a previous conviction for breaching the terms of his registration in 2020 by turning up at primary school events in Edinburgh and also at a children’s cycling event in Perthshire, for which he was fined £500.
But he was back in court last week after police discovered he had carried out regulated work at another two events involving youngsters and was charged under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scotland Act 2007.
His lawyer Mark Harrower told Selkirk Sheriff Court that Pearson could not have possibly known that children were participating when he accepted the bookings.
Following a trial, he was found guilty of agreeing and carrying out regulated work and breaching his registration by working at an orienteering event which was open to competitors aged between 10 and 80 years old at Faskilly Woods in Pitlochry in September 2019.
Organiser Terence O’Brien, 64, said he had hired Pearson by email and added: “He did not ask if children would be at the event. The assumption was he had previous experience of orienteering events and would be aware of the people involved as it was mostly families.”
Sheriff David Clapham said Pearson should have asked the question on the ages of people taking part and found him guilty of the charge. He deferred sentence for four months for good behaviour.
He was found not guilty of breaching the act by attending a cycling event run by an Edinburgh club at Stobo in Peeblesshire in August 2021. His lawyer pointed out that Pearson had an email from a similar event two years previous saying it was adults only and he assumed it was still the case. But it transpired some 17-year-olds – who did not require treatment from Pearson – took part in the race.
It’s not illegal to drive or own a former ambulance but an offence would be committed if it was driven with the lights and sirens on.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
Shadow justice secretary Jamie Greene said: “It’s deeply alarming a convicted paedophile could commit the same serious offence three times and still avoid a prison sentence.”
Detective Superintendent Louise Harvie, of the national sex offender policing unit, said: “Every offender is assessed and managed in line with the risk they present.
“While we can never completely eliminate risk, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements partners use robust risk assessment processes and investigative tools to manage registered sex offenders, mitigate risk and protect the public.”
READ NEXT:
Mum fumes after Zara refuses to let her use £300 gift card that her son damaged
Scottish Harry Potter star Robbie Coltrane's ashes scattered at his favourite spots
Tributes flood in for award-winning Scottish chef after sudden death
The three Edinburgh and the Lothians bodies tragically never identified
Weather maps show wall of snow to blanket Scotland in days with -11C Arctic freeze
