A FORMER Inverclyde teacher has been found guilty of subjecting a teenager to ‘calculated’ and ‘malicious’ abuse over almost three years.
Paul Murtagh was convicted of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards the young man between July 2021 and January of this year.
The 42-year-old caused his victim fear or alarm by shouting, swearing, making violent threats and repeatedly moving his possessions.
Murtagh, of Dempster Street, was employed as a secondary school teacher in Inverclyde at the time of the alleged offence, though Inverclyde Council confirmed at the start of his trial earlier this year that he is no longer employed by the local authority.
He stood trial before Sheriff Sean Lynch at Greenock Sheriff Court, with evidence being heard on three separate occasions over the last two months.
The court was shown footage captured on an Apple MacBook in which Murtagh could be seen entering the teen’s room, picking up a number of items, and placing them elsewhere.
READ MORE: Greenock teacher denies 'threatening behaviour' to teen
The complainer described secretly setting the device up to record while he was out on Christmas Day last year.
Witnesses explained that, over the years, several of the teen’s belongings had ‘disappeared’ – including glasses, a passport, bank cards and several bus passes - without explanation.
One woman told the court that upon viewing the MacBook footage, she felt her ‘eyes were opened to a lot of unanswered questions’.
In WhatsApp messages exchanged with Murtagh after he was confronted about the video, the woman told him he had been ‘slowly killing’ the complainer, and asked why he had acted in such a way.
Murtagh replied: “I don’t know. He just made my blood boil from time to time, but he didn’t deserve that.”
On the final day of the trial, another witness described the footage as ‘shocking’.
She added: “This is a man that we all trusted and loved.”
READ MORE: Court hears of ex-teacher's 'cold and calculated abuse'
In her closing remarks, a fiscal depute noted that all the Crown witnesses in the case had been able to identify the man in the video as Murtagh.
She also highlighted that a ‘catalogue of apologies’ had been made by him in WhatsApp messages sent in the days after he was asked about the video.
Defence solicitor Edward Sweeney described the case as ‘unusual’.
He told the court: “The conduct complained of in this case is not necessarily something which would cause a reasonable person fear or alarm.”
Sheriff Lynch ruled that the behaviour of Murtagh, as described by the witnesses, was ‘clearly abusive’.
He added: “This was conduct that was calculated to frustrate [the complainer] and was done maliciously. It is abusive.
“I find that it would cause fear or alarm in the reasonable person.
“For all of these reasons, I find that the Crown has proven the prosecution case.”
Murtagh’s sentencing was deferred until next month while social work reports are prepared.
He is due to return to court on November 26. His bail was continued in the meantime.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article