A school bus driver who watched pornography on his phone while transporting pupils has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work and placed under two years of supervision.
David Robe, 55, from Ashington, Northumberland, was found guilty of breaching the peace by viewing explicit videos and images of naked women in the presence of children.
The offences occurred between May and September 2023 while he was operating a private-hire bus between Denholm and Jedburgh Grammar Campus in the Scottish Borders.
During sentencing at Jedburgh Sheriff Court, Sheriff Kevin McCarron said Robe posed a continuing risk to the public due to “being unable to have self-control.”
He added that while the case met the threshold for a prison term, community supervision was a more effective way to prevent further offending.
“I do believe this meets the threshold for a custodial sentence,” Sheriff McCarron said. “But on his release, the accused would not be supervised and the risk of reoffending would remain. The public would only be protected while he was in custody. Mr Robe needs longer supervision.”
As part of his sentence, Robe will also remain on the sex offenders register for two years.
During the trial, a former pupil testified that he frequently saw Robe watching pornographic material on his phone while collecting and dropping off students. The teenager said the issue came to light after a police visit to the school over an unrelated matter, when he reported Robe’s actions to officers.
