Highland Wildcats coach jailed after he tricked boys into stripping for fake sex education video

Press and Journal

24-04-2025

An Inverness American football coach who had teenage boys pose for naked photos and videos under the guise of making a sex education video has been jailed for two years.
Former head coach of the Highland Wildcats, Robert 'Robbie' Paulin was convicted of two charges of arranging or facilitating the involvement in pornography of a person aged under 18 by a jury at Inverness Sheriff Court in March.
At the sentencing hearing today, Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Paulin: 'You took the opportunity to groom these young men – you spotted their individual vulnerabilities and made a plan.
'You manipulated and deceived them – you tricked them both.'
The four-day trial had heard that Paulin had led outreach sessions in a number of schools and had had contact with a number of young people 'in the thousands' over a 17-year period.
His victims – now in their 20s – gave evidence describing how they became close to the older man before the crimes took place between 2012 and 2014.
The charges detail how the teenagers participated in exchange for payment – 'allegedly by a third party'.
Jurors were shown images and emails purporting to be from a woman involved in the production of the sex education project – some of which referenced 'Robbie' or appeared to have been copied to his email.
The correspondence asked the teenager to pose naked and provide a video of himself performing a solo sex act in return for payment.
The emails claimed the images would be used in a 'matter-of-fact' educational programme.
The witness told the court: 'I did talk to Robbie about the project.'
He said he provided the requested footage to Paulin and received payments.
Aged 17, he posed naked for the indecent photographs – some of which Paulin himself took.
These included photographs of his victim's penis and video of the teenager performing a solo sex act.
Paulin also had a second boy, aged 15, pose naked while he took indecent images, including photographs of his penis, and attempted to take video of him performing a solo sex act.
In evidence led by fiscal depute Susan Love, the second complainer told the court Paulin approached him about featuring in educational material as a 'model'.
He said: 'Robbie actually came up to me and said that a woman emailed him about sex education throughout Europe and was wondering if he had any models.
'It was to go around schools and show them sex education and show people what puberty is like – it was just me taking three photos and doing one video.'
He added: 'The pictures would be a front-facing one of me fully naked and then two side profiles of me fully naked.
'The video was meant to be of me masturbating in front of the camera naked.'
The witness confirmed to the court that he would have been 15 at the time.
He said Paulin took the photographs and also set up a camera and tripod for the teenager to record the video alone.
'I couldn't go through with it,' he said.
Paulin had denied any wrongdoing during a four-day trial and was acquitted of three further sex charges.
A charge that he directed sexual verbal communications to the first complainer was found not to be proven.
Also not proven were charges that he engaged in sexual activity with or towards the second complainer when he was aged between 13 and 16 and intentionally caused the same child to participate in sexual activity.
Giving evidence in his own defence, Paulin repeatedly denied all of the conduct described by his accusers and, under cross-examination, claimed that both had 'grievances' against him.
But a jury took around three-and-a-half hours to find Paulin guilty of both charges of arranging or facilitating the involvement in pornography of a person aged under 18.
Sheriff MacDonald called for reports and said Paulin's crimes displayed 'a level of grooming I have rarely seen'.
At the sentencing hearing today, Paulin's defence agent Kelly Duling said the conviction for 'totally despicable behaviour' represented an aberration in an 'otherwise crime-free life', which had been dedicated to social action.
She said her client had been 'heartbroken' that the complainers had needed give evidence at trial and pointed out that Paulin had become tearful during that process.
She said: 'Although he did deny his guilt at trial and does maintain that, he does accept the verdict of the jury.'
Ms Duling said that Paulin had no previous convictions and added that 'no antecedent matters have come to the attention of police in the intervening period'.
She drew the sheriff's attention to findings in the presentencing report that Paulin presented a low risk of reoffending and asked her to consider a non-custodial disposal.
But Sheriff MacDonald told Paulin: 'You went to trial on these matters and you were convicted by a jury on charges four and five.
'These were both charges of facilitating the involvement of two young men in pornography and arranging for sexual images to be taken of them in varying degrees.
'You became close to them, and they individually thought that you were their friend
'You took the opportunity to groom these young men – you spotted their individual vulnerabilities and made a plan.
'You manipulated and deceived them, you tricked them both. You were a fully mature adult at the time, you were in a position of trust – you abused that trust.'
The sheriff noted the nature of the offence and aggravating factors, including grooming and a 'significant degree of planning'.
She said Paulin's crimes displayed a 'staggering level of deception' which she called 'calculating and manipulative' and concluded there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.
Paulin, of Glenmoriston, was sentenced to two years in jail.