A PENSIONER has been fined after turning up to work as a first aider at a sporting event featuring youngsters despite being on the sex offenders register.

Wayne Pearson – who was caught with sick child abuse images – was banned from working with children under 18 after he downloaded the vile pictures at his Edinburgh home in 2016.

But he carried on operating his private ambulance service and ended up in trouble with the law.

Pearson, now 67, had 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.

Police discovered he had carried out regulated work at another two sporting events involving youngsters and was charged under the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scotland Act 2007.

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Following a trial at Selkirk Sheriff Court in January 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.

However Pearson 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 years old and 80 years old at Faskilly Woods in Pitlochry in September 2019.

Sentence was deferred for four months for good behaviour and Pearson was back in the dock last week at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Defence lawyer Mark Harrower said his client had been of good behaviour during that period and asked that he be admonished.

But Sheriff David Clapham said he could not grant an admonition due to the circumstances of the offence and instead fined him £200 with a £10 victim surcharge.

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The trial in January heard that organiser of the orienteering event Terence O’Brien, 64, said he had hired Pearson by e-mail and added: “He did not ask if children would be at the event.

“The assumption was that he had previous experience of orienteering events and he 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 therefore found him guilty of the charge.

He had found Pearson not guilty of agreeing and carrying out regulated work at the cycling event after Mr Harrower pointed out that Pearson had an e-mail 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 by Pearson – took part in the 50-mile cycle race.

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Mr Harrower told the trial his client was on the verge of retiring and was now only involved in giving training to first aiders.

Apart from the “unpleasant matter” he had been convicted of back in 2016, he had more than 40 years experience of providing first aid training.

He said there had been no complaints about Pearson’s behaviour at the events he attended.

Pearson, a former policeman in his native New Zealand, set up the private ambulance service Coast Ambulance and Medical more than 10 years ago.

He was put on the sex offenders register and banned from working with children after he downloaded the indecent pictures of children at his Edinburgh home in 2016.