RAPLOCH COMMUNITY PROTESTS AGAINST ALBERT ZALEWSKI IN STIRLING

In March 2014, residents of Raploch gathered outside the home of Albert Zalewski, a 43-year-old man accused of serious crimes, located on Drip Road close to three primary schools and a nursery situated at Raploch Community Campus.

Following a protest on Sunday night, approximately 30 locals assembled again on Monday morning, holding banners demanding his removal and chanting, "paedophile out." Despite the protests, Zalewski was not seen at the house, which remained with drawn curtains, and two windows were boarded up. Police maintained a presence throughout the demonstration.

Zalewski's criminal activities were revealed after he appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court last month. During the proceedings, which were translated into Polish for him, fiscal depute Nicola Henderson stated that police obtained a warrant to search his residence on May 14 of the previous year. The search uncovered a disturbing collection of 64 videos, including 11 with indecent images of children, and 53 categorized as "extreme." The videos reportedly depicted girls aged eight to 16 engaged in sexual acts with adult men, while others involved women with animals such as horses or dogs.

Zalewski pleaded guilty to possessing the indecent images of children and extreme pornography. His sentence was deferred until March 26 for reports, and he was placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Residents of Raploch expressed their views to the Observer, making it clear they wanted Zalewski removed from their community. Laura, a 31-year-old mother with children at Raploch Primary, stated she helped organize support for the protest via Facebook, emphasizing the community’s unity and concern.

"The community should stand together and get him out. He’s only 100 yards from the school," she said. "We want the children to be able to walk to school without worrying about things like this. There was a group of us here last night, but we want to do things peacefully."