CARNOUSTIE SEX OFFENDER WILLIAM GEDDES CAUGHT FILMING TEENAGE GIRL NAKED IN HER BEDROOM

In April 2019, a disturbing case emerged involving William Geddes, a resident of Carnoustie, who was found guilty of setting up a hidden camera with the intent to secretly record a teenage girl in her own bedroom. The incident came to light when the woman, who cannot be named for privacy reasons, visited Geddes’s house and borrowed his laptop. During her inspection of the device, she discovered a folder labeled with her name, which contained over 30 videos depicting her dressing and undressing. The discovery left her stunned and deeply distressed, prompting her to flee the residence in Carnoustie with the laptop in hand.

Geddes’s actions did not end there. The woman’s partner later tracked him to a supermarket café in Arbroath, where Geddes attempted to seize the laptop from her. A struggle ensued, but the woman’s partner managed to prevent him from taking the device. This series of events led to Geddes’s arrest and subsequent court proceedings.

At Dundee Sheriff Court, the prosecution detailed the extent of Geddes’s misconduct. Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan explained that the woman, while using Geddes’s laptop, noticed a folder containing multiple video files marked with her name. Upon opening one of these files, dated from 2012, she saw footage of Geddes entering her room with a recording device, placing it on a shelf, and then leaving. The videos showed her entering the room from the bathroom wearing only a towel, which she then removed, leaving herself naked. After she left, Geddes re-entered the room and took the recording device from the shelf.

Following this discovery, the woman left Geddes’s house and returned home with the laptop. She and her partner examined the device and found a total of 31 videos, with a combined duration of over 21 hours, all filmed in her bedroom without her knowledge or consent. She had been completely unaware that she was being recorded. The woman arranged to meet family members at Morrisons supermarket, and shortly after her departure, Geddes arrived at her address. When her partner informed him that she had left with the laptop, Geddes approached her at Morrisons, asked what she had found, and claimed he would delete the videos. He then attempted to leave the store with her backpack, but her partner intervened, leading to a physical struggle during which the laptop was seized and police were called.

William Geddes, aged 59 and residing on Braehead Drive in Carnoustie, pleaded guilty to multiple charges under the Sexual Offences Scotland Act, including possessing indecent images of children. The offences spanned from December 2010 to May 2014. The court heard that Geddes’s actions had caused significant harm, especially considering the victim was a vulnerable minor at the time. Defense solicitor Nick Whelan acknowledged that Geddes had no previous convictions and had been on bail since April of the previous year, during which he had not attracted further attention from authorities. Whelan emphasized the devastating impact of the crimes on Geddes’s family.

However, Sheriff Tom Hughes was unequivocal in his sentencing. He sentenced Geddes to 18 months in prison and ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register for life. The sheriff condemned Geddes’s actions as selfish and catastrophic, highlighting the long-term consequences for the victim. He stated, “Your selfish actions caused catastrophic consequences. Your victim at the time was a child and I’m told she was vulnerable at the particular stage. You have heard her with long-term consequences. The way I should deal with you is by a non-custodial disposal and to impose a community payback order. Unfortunately for you, I do not accept that. Society doesn’t think it is appropriate that people like you should walk away from this with a CPO. Because of the serious nature of what you have done and the consequences, a custodial sentence is the only way of dealing with this matter.”

In a related hearing in March 2019, Geddes’s sentencing was deferred due to the unavailability of social work reports. The court had previously heard that Geddes’s guilty plea involved charges under the Sexual Offences Scotland Act and possession of indecent images of children. The case was scheduled for further sentencing in April, with Geddes remaining on bail and on the sex offenders register in the meantime.