May 2018 Primary teacher caught with images of young girls avoids prison A disgraced Tayside primary school teacher caught with images of nearly-naked young girls on his home computer has avoided being jailed. Stuart Grant  was instead placed on probation for six months and will have his name added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for the same length of time after an offence which left his career at a Dundee school in ruins when the offence came to light. Grant was a teacher at St Francis’ Primary School in Dundee – previously known as St Luke’s & St Matthew’s – but parents of youngsters there only learned of the reason behind his dismissal last May following his guilty plea to two charges relating to the possession of indecent material almost a decade ago. He initially faced petition proceedings in relation to the matter, before admitting a summary complaint to charges of taking or making indecent images of children between September 11 2008 and June 4 2012 at an address in Kirkcroft Brae, Liff. Grant, of Almond Place, Dundee, further admitted possessing indecent images of children at the same address on November 30 2011. Forfar Sheriff Court previously heard police executed a warrant at Grant’s home on May 19 last year after receiving information that the accused was in possession of indecent images, and a computer tower and iPhone were seized. When examined, investigating officers found three inaccessible images at ‘category C’ level of girls aged between five and eight in underwear, in indecent poses. A further image was uncovered on the back-up of Grant’s user profile. Grant’s solicitor, Laura Hogg, said the accused had lost his job and been thrown out of the marital home as a result of the offence. Sheriff Gregor Murray said there were “unusual factors which significantly affect the sentence” including the offence’s historical nature, the low number of images and significant changes in Grant’s life. Conditions of Grant’s probation include a requirement for him to liaise with officers from the police offender management unit and allowing police or supervising social work officers inspection of any devices capable of accessing the internet without advance notice. April 2018 Tayside primary teacher caught with indecent images of young girls A Tayside primary school teacher’s career is in ruins after being caught with images of nearly naked young girls on his home computer. Stuart Grant was removed from his post at a Dundee school after his arrest last May on charges of downloading indecent images over a period covering almost four years. The 33-year-old pled guilty but sentencing was delayed when he appeared at Forfar sheriff court on Thursday after a sheriff raised concerns over a social work report’s correlation to a Crown narrative which revealed four images in total had been recovered from equipment seized at Grant’s home. Grant was a teacher at Dundee’s St Francis primary school – previously known as St Luke’s & St Matthew’s – but parents of youngsters there only learned of the reason behind his dismissal following his guilty plea to two charges relating to the possession of indecent material. He initially faced petition proceedings in relation to the matter, before pleading guilty on summary complaint to charges of taking or making indecent images of children between September 11 2008 and June 4 2012 at an address in Kirkcroft Brae, Liff. Grant, of Almond Place, Dundee further admitted possessing indecent images of children at the same address on November 30 2011. Depute fiscal Jill Drummond said police executed a warrant at Grant’s home on May 19 last year after receiving information that the accused was in possession of indecent images, and a computer tower and iPhone were seized. When examined, investigating officers found three inaccessible images at category C level of girls aged between five and eight in underwear, in indecent poses. A further image was uncovered on the back-up of Grant’s user profile. The court heard the accused was co-operate throughout with police, and made no reply to being cautioned and charged with the offences. Ordering forfeiture of the computer and phone, Sheriff Gregor Murray told Grant that whilst he had pled guilty to a serious offence it involved a very low number of images and the report before the court “does not reflect that in any shape or form”. The sheriff told Grant the likely outcome in the case will be a Community Payback Order, but said he also wanted matters relating to possible conduct requirements of such a sentence to be fully investigated. Sentence was deferred until May 10 and Grant was made subject to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Registration in the interim. March 2018 Parents in shock after former Dundee primary teacher admits possessing indecent images of kids A Dundee school has moved to reassure parents after a former computer teacher admitted possessing indecent images of children. Stuart Grant, 33, of Almond Place, was sacked by St Francis Primary School — formerly St Luke’s and St Matthew’s RC Primary School — in May after being arrested in connection with the charges. A letter from the Fintry school was sent to parents notifying them of Grant’s guilty plea at Forfar Sheriff Court on Thursday. Head teacher Neil Lowden wrote: “It is with regret that I am writing to inform you that Stuart Grant, previously a member of the teaching staff at St Luke’s & St Matthew’s, has appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court charged with offences relating to indecent photographs of children. “He pleaded guilty to these charges today and will return to Forfar Sheriff Court for sentencing at a later date.” Mr Lowden said there was “no evidence” any of the children in the pictures were pupils at the school, or any other in Dundee. He added: “I understand how upsetting this information will be and I would like to assure you that our school follows all the necessary child protection measures and procedures to protect all children in St Francis. “If you have any concerns, or would like to discuss any aspects of school life, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at the school.” Mr Lowden also told parents their children were his “number one priority”. One parent, who did not want to be named, said: “He was there for a few years as a computer teacher and I think he worked in the classrooms sometimes. We’re all really shocked by it. “The staff must have been upset too. “I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong way to go about it. I’m sure there are people who stay around him who might not have known.” Grant now faces jail after admitted taking or making indecent images of children between September 11 2008 and June 4 2012 at an address in Kirkcroft Brae, Liff. He further admitted possessing indecent images of children at the same address on November 30 2011. Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown deferred sentence until April 12 for reports and released Grant on bail meantime. He was also placed on the sex offenders register in the interim.