An art teacher who subjected schoolgirls and former pupils to sex assaults was jailed for eight months yesterday.
James Skelton Smith’s conduct was labelled “abhorrent” by a sheriff.
Smith, a part-time teacher of expressive arts at a leading Scottish state school, would regularly drop his pencil in order to crawl under second and third-year girls’ desks.
He bombarded one older pupil with gifts and attention until she finally dropped out to avoid him.
On her last day at school, when she was still 17, he followed her into the street and gave her a “quite sexual” French kiss, then, when she returned to hand in work for her final exams, he kissed her again and groped her breast in an empty classroom.
Smith, 57, was told by Sheriff John Rafferty: “These assaults were carried out when you were in a position of authority and trust.
“You contrived situations to get down on the floor of the classroom and in some instances crawl under the desks and look up the skirts of schoolgirls. One of the pupils had mental health issues.
“She suffered from anxiety and this was known to you. You sought her out, befriended her, contacted her on social media, and gave her gifts before indecently assaulting her.”
After a summary trial at Dundee Sheriff Court last month, Smith, of Dundee, was found guilty of indecent assault, sexual assault and breach of the peace. The offences took place over an 11-year period between 2008 and 2019.
Sentence had been deferred until yesterday for reports.
