Calum McFadyen, a 45-year-old convicted sex offender from Musselburgh, East Lothian, was found guilty of breach of the peace following a disruptive incident at a local primary school playground on April 1, 2025.
The altercation occurred when McFadyen was dropping off a child at the school. An angry father, aware of McFadyen's past convictions through rumours circulated on social media, confronted him. The confrontation escalated into a physical struggle involving shouting, pushing, and shoving, which left several young children in tears and visibly upset for the remainder of the day. The school's deputy head teacher witnessed the event and described overhearing shouting before seeing the two men engaged in a physical altercation. She noted the impact on the pupils, stating that some were crying and that the incident had a lasting effect on their well-being.
The head teacher also testified, explaining that there had been heightened awareness among parents and staff regarding McFadyen's presence at the school due to his history. She observed the father barging into McFadyen and heard him say, 'you shouldn’t be in the playground.' McFadyen stood up from a bench and approached the man, but could have left the area at any time. The head teacher expressed her concern for the children's well-being, saying, '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.'
McFadyen, representing himself in court, claimed he acted in self-defence after being violently attacked. He alleged that the father threw a punch and lobbed a cup of coffee at him, forcing him to raise his hands in defence. He also mentioned taking a photograph of his assailant and described the social media rumours as 'an incitement to violence' against him. However, Sheriff Frank Gill found the Crown witnesses credible and reliable, rejecting McFadyen's account and convicting him of conducting himself in a disorderly manner by shouting and engaging in the physical struggle within the playground.
McFadyen's criminal history includes a 2013 conviction for possessing a stash of indecent images of children, for which he was jailed for 100 days and placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Following that conviction, he was forced to flee his home in Haddington, East Lothian, due to protests from residents. After relocating to Stoneybank Road in Musselburgh, neighbours organised further protests, leading to another incident on August 24, 2025, where McFadyen confronted demonstrators while carrying two large knives. Shocking mobile phone footage captured him assaulting a woman and approaching terrified neighbours with the blades, resulting in a 190-day jail sentence in November 2025.
Sentence for the breach of the peace was deferred for reports and is scheduled for next month following the trial on March 9, 2026, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The case highlights ongoing community tensions surrounding registered sex offenders and the challenges of their reintegration.