Rutherglen nursery worker in court over child sex abuse charges

A RUTHERGLEN nursery worker this week appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court on two child sex abuse charges.

Alex Mortimer (28) was charged following a large-scale police operation and has already made three appearances in court, the latest one this week.

He has also been charged with possessing indecent photos of a child, two charges of taking an indecent photo of a child, and a further two of failing to comply with bail conditions.

Yesterday at Glasgow Sheriff Court he made no plea or declaration and was remanded in custody.

He was sacked by his employer, South Lanarkshire Council, after the allegations came to light.

Mortimer is a registered practitioner in a day care of children service. He has also been suspended from practising by the Scottish Social Services Council.

He worked at a Rutherglen nursery which cannot be named for legal reasons.

A nursery insider said police carrying out an investigation went to the nursery about six weeks ago.

“They told Mortimer to go home and have advised him not to talk about the reasons for their visit,” the source added.

“Police then contacted the council and then he was suspended.”

Parents of pupils at the nursery received a letter from South Lanarkshire Council informing them that a staff member had been suspended due to an incident that had been reported to the police.

Yesterday some parents of children who attend the nursery broke down in tears when they learned of the charges facing 28-year-old Mortimer.

They said the council should have informed them of the reason for Mortimer’s suspension.

One parent said: “I am worried and utterly horrified.

“The council should have told us.

“The parents should have been informed on why he was suspended.”

Another parent added: “I am upset as they took the decision out of my hands on whether or not I still wanted my child to attend that nursery.”

The Scottish Social Services Council’s preliminary proceedings sub-committee met on February 3.

They imposed an interim suspension order on Mortimer for a period of six months.

The order came into effect on February 7, 2012.

Mortimer, who lives at a Rutherglen address, featured in the Reformer in December, 2009, after appearing on national television in front of six million viewers.

He was one of around 100 people recruited by Tombola.co.uk to take part in adverts for the online bingo site to be screened for a few seconds before, during and at the end of the soap, Emmerdale.

Mortimer told the Reformer at the time: “I’m sure some of my friends don’t actually believe I’m going to be part of Emmerdale, so I can’t wait to see their faces when I crop up on television.”