A convicted child sex offender was forced to call police for protection after an angry mob protested outside his house on Sunday night, October 18. Stevan McIntosh, 65, was confined to his home after the large group turned up and demonstrated at his presence in their community in North Berwick, East Lothian.
Protest organised by Awareness Protection group
The rowdy protest was organised by a group called Awareness Protection and saw around 40 people - including one man using a megaphone - demand McIntosh's removal from the area. The four-hour demo saw fireworks let off outside the property and was live-streamed on the group's social media pages, being seen by around 15,000 viewers.
Police officers including dog handlers and a riot team attended the scene and were seen guarding the front and back doors to McIntosh's home. Constables were also spotted inside McIntosh's home as the protest went on outside.
Police statement and response
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 7.35pm on Sunday, 18 October, 2026, we received a report of a crowd gathered in the Dundas Road area of North Berwick. Officers attended and engaged with the group which later dispersed. There were no arrests."
Members of the Awareness Protection group have posted mobile phone footage of Sunday night's protest on social media and have vowed to return to the property Monday evening, October 19.
McIntosh's conviction and sentencing
McIntosh was convicted of possessing indecent images of children between January 2022 and October 2023 when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March last year. He was found to have 28 vile images and videos of children aged between five and 14 years old - including Category A - stored on his phone when police raided his home in October 2023.
The court heard the father-of-three claimed he had been sent the pictures on WhatsApp and did not know how to use the delete function on his phone. Sheriff Derek O'Carroll sentenced McIntosh to a 12 month social work supervision order and told him he must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work. The sheriff also said his name would be added to the sex offenders register for five years.
Historic assaults and court outcome
McIntosh, a self-employed stonemason, was also found guilty of historic assaults on two of his children following a four day trial at the capital's sheriff court earlier this year. Siblings Catrina and Sean reported their father to the police after reading he had been convicted of possessing the indecent images of children in the local press last year.
McIntosh denied the allegations but was found guilty of two offences including assaulting son Sean a row over Pokemon cards on an occasion between January 1997 and December 1998. The brute also caused daughter Catrina to urinate herself with fear after he chased her out the family home forcing her to seek refuge with a neighbour during a disturbing incident in 2004. He was cleared of a further eight allegations of assault on his children.
Sheriff O'Carroll issued non-harassment orders banning McIntosh from contacting Catrina, now aged 33, and 36-year-old Sean for the next two years and fined him a total of £1575.
