ABERDEEN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUALLY ASSAULTING 12-YEAR-OLD AT LOCAL POOL
A young swimmer in Aberdeen was the victim of a sexual assault by 34-year-old Mehrdad Esmaeili at Northfield Swimming Pool, who made a beeline for her in the water, touched her bottom, and then swam away laughing.This incident followed prior unsettling comments Esmaeili made to the girl and her friends, including calling her “beautiful,” which had already prompted her to report him to a lifeguard.
The girl had moved away previously to avoid him.
The event transpired on October 25 last year, at the Northfield pool on Kettlehills Crescent, when Esmaeili approached the girl again, swimming very close and making a front stroke that touched her on the bum—an act she described as a "swipe," which left her "shocked and scared."The girl had already warned the lifeguard about Esmaeili's earlier comments.
Despite this, Esmaeili returned to the pool days later, along with friends, and once again behaved inappropriately, touching her on the bottom and smiling while doing so.
She was left feeling very nervous, and after reporting the incident to police, Esmaeili was charged and pled guilty to sexually assaulting a child under 13.
During the court proceedings, the defense claimed Esmaeili believed his actions to be innocent "horseplay or hijinks," and he claimed responsibility for touching her bottom, apologizing for his conduct.
Sheriff James Hastie deferred sentencing pending further reports and placed him on the sex offenders register.
Esmaeili lives in Glasgow but will not see the girl at her local swimming pool again.
