A SAUCHIE man has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two children as a sheriff vowed to make Clackmannanshire safe for young women.

Adam Anderson was found guilty of two charges following a trial at Alloa Sheriff Court on Wednesday, October 31.

Anderson, 18-years-old at the time of the incident, had assaulted two girls, then aged 13 and 14, by slapping their buttocks before seizing the same.

The incident took place in the early evening on March 25 of this year when the two girls, who gave evidence from behind a screen, were at McDonald's on Clackmannan Road, Alloa.

After leaving there they went to the B&M store then Morrisons before heading to catch a bus home.

One of the girls then noticed a "tall, older looking" man behind them and walking "quite fast".

Both girls recalled seeing the man in McDonald's at the same time as them.

The girl, now 15, said: "He got closer then slapped me and my friend's bums at the same time."

Pushed further for details by procurator fiscal Lindsay Brookes, the girl continued: "He came through the middle of us."

"It was quite hard, it was not silent," she said of the slap.

Both girls told Laurelle Johnstone, defending Anderson, that he had said: "Move," as he passed rather than "excuse me".

After the slap, Anderson then walked ahead of the girls who described feeling "confused" at what had happened.

He then stopped at a bus stop and looked at the timetable as the girls walked past him.

The girl noticed that he was once again following them and pulled her friend to the side.

She added: "He grabbed both our bums at the same time and pushed us against the wall. He pushed us as he done it."

The girl described them being pushed around a metre in distance.

Both complainers, who were now feeling "scared", crossed the road away from Anderson and phoned the younger girl's dad who came and picked them up.

The two teenagers gave statements to police that night before both picking Anderson out of an identification parade.

The defence lawyer then quizzed the girl on the detail of the incidents, asking whether there had been any contact with the buttocks and if he had, in fact, tried to squeeze past and accidentally touched them.

However, both girls were emphatic in their responses to Miss Johnstone as they reiterated that they were both slapped and grabbed.

Sheriff Mackie found Anderson, now 19, guilty of both charges and ruled that there was a sexual nature to the crimes despite the defence arguing that it was a "momentary incident".

He said: "Doing it once then doing it again is not momentary. I find the witnesses entirely credible and reliable."

The sheriff told Anderson: "These were young vulnerable women you followed down the road, slapped their buttocks then grabbed them.

"This was an intentional act. I do not have to find if you got sexual gratification.

"The young women of Clackmannanshire should know they do not have to be subject to that behaviour."

Anderson, of Hallpark, also pleaded guilty to separate charges of stealing DVDs from Tesco on September 17 and providing a false name and address to police while on bail.

He will be sentenced for all matters on November 29 and has been placed on the sex offenders' register.