A GREENOCK man has been found guilty of a sickening swimming pool sex assault on a 13-year-old girl at the Waterfront Leisure Centre.

Stuart Barr, 32, also exposed himself to an 11-year-old girl on a rubber ring in a small flume pool.

He was found guilty of both crimes after a trial at Greenock Sheriff Court in which four girls gave evidence via video link.

The court heard how Barr had gone to the pool himself on 15 July this year.

The 13-year-old victim had visited the pool with her parents and younger sister and brother.

She told depute fiscal Alan Parfery that he had ‘brushed’ against her in the training pool while she played with her siblings.

Her 11-year-old sister was under the water at that time and said she witnessed the incident.

She said: “The man started following her then stopped for a minute and started tugging at his shorts.

“He then started putting out his private parts. He then started going towards her and he leaned against her a little bit.

“He touched his private parts on her leg. I shouted to my sister at that point.” Another child, aged 11, had visited the pool that same day with her friend’s family.

She said that Barr had exposed himself in one of the small ‘bowl’ pools that link the flumes.

She and her pal were stuck on their rubber rings in the pool because of the current of the circling water.

Barr had offered to push them down the slide and both girls agreed.

She said: “He split our hands open and pushed my friend down the slide. I was still there.” She then said he then exposed himself, adding: “I saw it for a minute or so then just tried to get away.

“I felt uncomfortable and I didn’t want to be in that situation.” Her 11-year-old friend confirmed that Barr had pulled their hands apart and pushed her down the slide before her friend came down about ‘five minutes’ later.

The girl added: “She was really scared. On the way down she was shouting my name.

“When she got to the bottom she told me what had happened. She said that the man had pulled his shorts away and that she could see his private parts.” Barr maintained he was innocent in his evidence to defence solicitor Aidan Gallagher.

He said CCTV would prove he had not done anything wrong.

However, the footage shown in court was taken at the wrong time and failed to capture Barr, while other CCTV film of the incident could not be recovered because of ‘malfunctioning’ recording equipment.

A child in each of the separate incidents confirmed that Barr was wearing a pair of green football shorts at the time.

Barr said he thought it was ‘a wind-up’ when he was approached by a member of staff who said a complaint had been made against him.

On the pool incident he claimed he had not come within an ‘arm’s length’ of the girl.

He said: “She was splashing with her hands and walking backwards towards me.

“She looked over and said ‘sorry’ as I think she thought she had splashed me.” After moving from the training pool, Barr admitted he had went onto a flume but said he had simply pushed two girls down because they were stuck on the rubber rings.

Sheriff Gerard Sinclair found Barr guilty of one charge of sexual assault and another of indecent exposure.

He will return to court in January to be sentenced.