Borders Press AgencyA school bus driver who watched pornography on his phone while picking up and dropping off pupils has been given unpaid work.
David Robe was found guilty of a breach of the peace charge by repeatedly viewing the pornographic images of naked women on his mobile while working and in the view of children.
The 55-year-old was driving a private hire school bus, running between the village of Denholm in the Borders and Jedburgh Grammar Campus, between May 1 and September 20 last year.
A former male pupil told a trial at Jedburgh Sheriff Court that he regularly witnessed Robe looking at porn on his phone while getting on and off the bus.
A female pupil also told the court that she saw him looking at “inappropriate” images on his phone and expressed concern that he was viewing the material with children nearby.
Robe, of Ashington, Northumberland, declined to give evidence.
Prosecutor India MacLean said she was satisfied Robe had committed a breach of the peace due to the concern about his behaviour in front of children.
She described his behaviour as “reckless” at best, but accepted he had not shown the images deliberately to the children or gained any gratification from that.
Defence lawyer Ed Hulme said Robe, who has no previous convictions, had only been reported by chance.
He argued that the behaviour had not caused genuine alarm or distress on the private hire bus and that it had fallen short of a common breach of the peace offence.
Mr Hulme claimed there was not a significant sexual element to the case, which would require his name to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron said: “My initial view is that there is a significant sexual element to this crime.”
Sheriff McCarron said the offence met all the criteria for a custodial sentence but expressed concern that the public would only be protected for how long the prison sentence lasted, which would likely have been less than 12 months.
Robe instead was handed two years of supervision, 200 hours of community service to be completed within 12 months and placed on the sex offenders register for two years.
The court was told that Robe had not worked since the incident was reported to the police and his employers.
He did not intend to become a bus driver again, although he was considering a new career path as a lorry driver.
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