CALUM MACFADYEN FOUND GUILTY IN HADDINGTON OF ATTEMPTING TO LURE CHILDREN INTO WOODS
A man from East Lothian, Calum McFadyen, 44, has been convicted of attempting to coax three young girls into a wooded area under false pretenses.McFadyen approached the children near his former residence on Tandberg Way in Haddington, claiming that he needed assistance in locating a missing family member.
He then urged the girls to follow him into the nearby woods.
The children did not go with him but did not report the incident until two weeks later.
Once a parent of one of the children was informed about the encounter, they immediately alerted the police.
McFadyen was subsequently arrested and charged following the report.
At trial last week at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, McFadyen denied any misconduct.
The young victims provided their testimonies remotely, via a screened connection, during the proceedings.
After considering the evidence, Sheriff Ian Anderson found McFadyen guilty of the offence, which took place between June 29 and July 31 of the previous year.
The sentencing has been postponed until next month to allow for the preparation of social work reports.
—————————————————————————————————— A CONVICTED child sex offender who brandished two knives as he attacked his neighbours, who were staging a peaceful protest outside his home, has been jailed.
Calum MacFadyen, 45, confronted the protestors with the two large blades as they held the small demonstration in the street outside his home in Stoneybank in Musselburgh.
Shocking mobile phone footage captured MacFadyen attacking one woman by striking her to the head with a silver kitchen pan before he then lashed out and kicked her to the body.
He was then seen running into his house before reappearing armed with two kitchen knives, then approaching the terrified neighbours at about 8.30pm on August 24.
Police were alerted to the violent disturbance and MacFadyen was arrested and charged, and appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the following day, where he was remanded in custody.
He pleaded guilty to three charges of assault, two of possessing offensive weapons, and one of breaching the peace.
Sheriff Francis Gill sentenced MacFadyen to a 190-day jail term, backdated to his remand date of August 25.
A neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, said: “We’ve known about MacFadyen’s past for a while now after he moved here about seven months ago.
“There have been protests about his presence before and some residents decided to have a silent protest outside his house again in August.
‘We were being very peaceful and not creating a disturbance, but he came running out and started to attack some of us, mainly women, I must say.
“He hit one woman on the head with a pan and kicked her on the body.
He then ran into his house and came running back out into the street with two huge knives.
“We couldn’t believe what was happening and I really thought he was going to stab someone – it was terrifying.
“There are lots of families with young children in this area and we don’t want someone like him living here.
“I’m glad he got the jail but I just worry about what will happen when he gets out and wants to come back here, as a lot of the families are really terrified as to what he will do next.” MacFadyen was previously found guilty of attempting to coerce three young schoolgirls into a wooded area, after claiming that a family member had gone missing, following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier year.
He denied the offence but was found to have behaved in a threatening or abusive manner trying to lure the children into the woods near his former home in Haddington between June 6 and July 31, 2024.
He was hounded out of his former home in Haddington last summer after concerned residents protested outside his home for about two weeks.
He eventually fled the area after windows were smashed and paint daubed on the walls on the outside of the property.
—————————————————————————————————— EAST LOTHIAN SEX OFFENDER 'STRUGGLED' WITH PARENT IN PLAYGROUND AS KIDS LEFT CRYING A convicted sex offender claimed he was attacked in a primary school playground after parents circulated rumours on social media about his deviant past.
Calum McFadyen was involved in a physical struggle with an angry father that was said to have left several youngsters in tears at the school in Musselburgh, East Lothian.
MacFadyen claimed he was forced to defend himself after being “violently attacked” when the man threw a punch and lobbed a cup of coffee at him as he dropped a child off at the school.
The 45-year-old said he had to raise his hands in his defence and had also taken a photograph of his assailant but was later arrested and charged by police following the incident in April last year.
MacFadyen was previously jailed for 100 days and placed on the sex offenders register for five years after being caught with a stash of indecent images of children in 2013.
He was subsequently forced to flee his former home in Haddington, East Lothian, following angry protests from residents and moved to nearby Musselburgh.
Last year neighbours at MacFadyen’s new home at the town’s Stoneybank Road also held protests at his presence leading to an incident where he ran into the street to confront the demonstrators while carrying two large knives.
Shocking mobile phone footage was posted on social media that captured MacFadyen assaulting one woman and approaching his terrified neighbours carrying the blades on August 24.
He was subsequently jailed for 190 days for the offence in November last year.
MacFadyen was back in the dock on Monday, March 9 where he was on trial accused of committing a breach of the peace at the primary school in Musselburgh on April 1 last year.
The charge stated he conducted himself in a disorderly manner, shouted and engaged in a physical struggle with a man within the playground.
The school’s deputy head teacher said she had overheard shouting between the two men and had seen them “engaged in a physical altercation” that involved them “pushing and shoving”.
She said the violent altercation had left some children in tears and some pupils had been visibly upset for the rest of the day.
The head teacher told the court there had been “heightened awareness” regarding MacFadyen attending the school to drop off a child and she also witnessed the confrontation.
The teacher said the father had “barged” into MacFadyen and heard him saying “you shouldn’t be in the playground”.
She said MacFadyen had stood up from a bench and approached the man and that he could leave the area at any time.
She told the court: “My concern at the time was the children’s well-being and I was really worried about the children witnessing it and the effect it would have on them back in the school.
“I was very shaken and upset and there were several children crying and I was angry it had happened in my playground.
“I have never experienced anything like that in my teaching career.”
