Private school's gardener is child abuser

Published on Thursday 15 October 2009 18:58

A GARDENER at one of Scotland's top private schools abused a nine-year-old girl after luring her to his shed, and built up a store of child pornography.

John Gallagher had been working for several years as groundsman at Glenalmond College when he carried out a serious sex attack on the girl in the school grounds.

Gallagher, 41, was locked up yesterday after a court heard him confess that it was his fantasy to have sex with underage girls.

Perth Sheriff Court was told Gallagher had been secretly using his mobile phone camera to take pictures of female pupils at the prestigious Perthshire school. He was caught with nearly 50 pictures of pupils at the school, which he had taken surreptitiously while they were involved in sporting activity or playing in the grounds.

Gallagher was also caught with hundreds of other images and more than 100 video clips – lasting over two hours – of children as young as four being sexually abused. Fiscal depute Janine Bates told the court that some of the videos were at the worst end of the scale.

Miss Bates said Gallagher – known as Wee John – had been a kitchen porter at the school for four years and had worked as a groundsman for the past ten.

She said he had occasionally done some gardening work for the parents of his victim – who was not a pupil at the school – and had bought her presents in the past.

She added: "The complainer is a nine-year-old schoolgirl. The accused carried out some gardening work for the family. He asked her mother to send the girl to his shed as he had a present for her.

"She informed her daughter who made her way to the shed. It is within the college grounds. He gave her a Tesco gift certificate and then kissed her on the face and lips."

Miss Bates went on to describe how he unbuttoned her blouse and pulled down her trousers and committed indecent acts.

The girl returned to her mother's car and "seemed unhappy" before blurting out that "Wee John was acting dodgy" and telling her mother what the gardener had done.

During a police interview, Gallagher said: "I sexually assaulted a little girl today and it is kind of hard to accept."

He told officers they would find indecent images of children on his computer at home.

Gallagher, of Perth, was placed on the sex offenders' register and remanded in custody pending reports.

He admitted using lewd and libidinous conduct on a nine-year-old girl in the gardeners' shed at Glenalmond College on 16 June this year. He also admitted possessing child pornography at his former home in Logiealmond, Perth-shire.

Gallagher, who is single and lives alone, told police he first became interested in child pornography out of "curiosity" four years ago.

Sheriff William Gilchrist said: "I am clear that given the nature of these offences, a custodial sentence is inevitable and you will be remanded in custody at this stage."

Glenalmond College is one of the country's most expensive private schools with fees for full-time boarding pupils costing as much as 22,545 annually.

Former pupils include TV star Robbie Coltrane and ex-Scotland rugby captains David Sole and Rob Wainwright.