Latest news with #RobertStewart
Scotsman
02-07-2025
- Scotsman
Man who arranged to meet 'schoolgirl' for sex at Edinburgh Waverley forced to move house after protest
A road sweeper who arranged to meet a young schoolgirl for sex has been forced to move after local residents protested outside his home. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Robert Stewart, 54, sent the teenage child sick online sexual messages and an indecent image after making contact with an online profile in September last year. Stewart then travelled to Waverley railway station in Edinburgh in the hope of meeting up with the 14-year-old for sexual purposes the following month. But instead of meeting the youngster the council worker was confronted by several members of paedophile hunter group ASA Scotland who had been using adult decoys to snare online predators. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The hunter group live streamed the internet sting to their Facebook page which has been viewed by more than 44,000 social media users and attracted around 700 comments. Robert Stewart outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court | Alexander Lawrie Stewart is seen on the footage being questioned by the hunter group for around 50 minutes outside the capital station before being led away by police officers and later arrested and charged. The road worker was subsequently forced to move from his flat in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, after a mob gathered to protest at his presence and vandalised the pleaded guilty to three sexual offences including sending a sexual image when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and he returned to the dock for sentencing on Tuesday. Solicitor Ms McDonald said her client, who has worked for Midlothian Council for more than 20 years, has a long standing alcohol dependency and is 'well aware this offence meets the custody threshold'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ms McDonald said Stewart's former home had been vandalised after a group of locals had protested after finding out about his offending. Sheriff Robert Fife said: 'As you are well aware these are very serious charges. I have had very careful regard to the full social work report and your personal circumstances. 'Clearly the threshold for custody is met but in this case I have decided not to impose a custodial sentence but to impose a direct alternative to one of imprisonment. 'If you do not comply with the order I am going to impose you will be going to prison for 21 months, do you understand that?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Stewart, now of Bilston, Midlothian, was placed under the supervision of the social work department for two years and ordered to carry out the maximum term of 300 hours of unpaid work in the community. He was also told to attend sessions with the online sex offenders rehabilitation organisation CISSO and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years. Stewart pleaded guilty to sending sexual written communication, an indecent image and arranging to meet the child at Waverley train station, Edinburgh, all between September 24 and October 1 last year.
Edinburgh Live
01-07-2025
- Edinburgh Live
Man who went to Edinburgh Waverley Station to meet girl, 14, is forced from home
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A pervert road sweeper who arranged to meet who he thought was a young schoolgirl for sex has been forced to move after local residents protested outside his home. Robert Stewart, 54, sent the 'teenage child' decoy sick online sexual messages and an indecent image after making contact with an online profile in September last year. Stewart then travelled to Waverley train station in Edinburgh in the hope of meeting up with the '14-year-old' for sexual purposes the following month. But instead of meeting the youngster the council worker was confronted by several members of paedo hunter group ASA Scotland who had been using adult decoys to snare online predators. The hunter group live streamed the internet sting to their Facebook page which has been viewed by more than 44,000 social media users and attracted around 700 comments. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Stewart is seen on the footage being questioned by the hunter group for around 50 minutes outside the capital station before being led away by police officers and later arrested and charged. The road worker was subsequently forced to move from his flat in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, after a mob gathered to protest at his presence and vandalised the property. He pleaded guilty to three sexual offences including sending a sexual image when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and he returned to the dock for sentencing on Tuesday. Solicitor Ms McDonald said her client, who has worked for Midlothian Council for more than 20 years, has a long standing alcohol dependency and is 'well aware this offence meets the custody threshold'. Ms McDonald said Stewart's former home had been vandalised after a group of locals had protested after finding out about his offending. Sheriff Robert Fife said: 'As you are well aware these are very serious charges. I have had very careful regard to the full social work report and your personal circumstances. 'Clearly the threshold for custody is met but in this case I have decided not to impose a custodial sentence but to impose a direct alternative to one of imprisonment. 'If you do not comply with the order I am going to impose you will be going to prison for 21 months, do you understand that?'. Stewart, now of Bilston, Midlothian, was placed under the supervision of the social work department for two years and ordered to carry out the maximum term of 300 hours of unpaid work in the community. He was also told to attend sessions with the online sex offenders rehabilitation organisation CISSO and was placed on the sex offenders register for five years, Stewart pleaded guilty to sending sexual written communication, an indecent image and arranging to meet the child at Waverley train station, Edinburgh, all between September 24 and October 1 last year.
New York Times
07-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Anger Over the Destruction of American Values
To the Editor: 'How to Make a Mild Guy Really Angry,' by David Brooks (column, May 30), struck a deep chord. His outrage is justified. The reduction of patriotism to mere tribal loyalty and the denial of the idea that soldiers might fight for ideals are not only historically inaccurate but also morally corrosive. Mr. Brooks rightly calls this what it is: an attempt to reject the better angels of our national character. If the current administration wishes to recover a sense of moral clarity, it might begin by revisiting the rich tradition of Catholic social teaching. Pope Francis often reminded us that authentic social peace cannot be built on exclusion or the idolization of the homeland, but only through a love that seeks the good of others. Human dignity is not earned by group membership or ancestry; it is universal and inviolable, and must be the foundation of all political action. When leaders traffic in dehumanizing language or policies, they not only stain the office they hold — they also cheapen the very ideals that generations of Americans have fought and died to uphold. America is indeed a homeland. But as Mr. Brooks reminds us, it is also an idea. And without that idea — of liberty, justice and equal dignity for all — we become just another tribe with flags. Robert StewartChantilly, Va. To the Editor: David Brooks's anger over the destruction of American values is felt by many who are demonstrating on our streets and filling town hall meetings. But if we are to reverse the terrible moral condition of the United States, we must accept that the American people are responsible for it. The American people elected Donald Trump and the MAGA majority in Congress, and by doing so eliminated historical national values such as democracy, compassion and concern for the national good, replacing them with individualism, grievance, presidential corruption and tribal dominance. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Adventist heart surgeon comes from a line of trailblazing African Americans
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — It used to be that heart patients could only get certain services here in Kern County. More complex or advanced surgeries were often encouraged to travel elsewhere. That is not the case at least at Adventist Health Bakersfield anymore. Credit the veteran heart surgeon who came on board in January 2023. Dr. Robert Stewart believes in science – science fiction and science fact. He's a Trekkie – not of the nerdy extreme – but a fan of the iconic television series' ability to foretell aspects of our future. He is a champion of the healing power of our accumulated knowledge – knowledge that has brought new hope to his chosen field, cardiothoracic medicine. Heart surgery. 'I believe in the whole principles of science,' Stewart said during a 20-minute sit-down interview with KGET. 'I believe that you can have a theory, and I believe you can do the research to prove or disprove that theory and then I believe that if you are gonna bring things into our realm, I believe in the clinical trials that you gotta prove, I believe in everything about the science of, not only medicine, but the physical sciences.' Cardiac and thoracic surgeons specialize in treating diseases affecting the chest, lungs, esophagus and heart. Cardiac surgeons like Stewart treat heart problems, including heart disease, heart transplants and heart failure. Robert Stewart, 76, graduated from Rush Medical School in Chicago, spent time in Michigan and eventually landed in Fresno. Two years ago Stewart brought that knowledge from Fresno to Bakersfield's Adventist Health Hospital, becoming the first, and certainly the most accomplished African American cardiothoracic surgeon in the area. '(For) every cardiac surgery program in Fresno, including the congenital program, I've been instrumental,' he said. 'I've worked at all of them. Actually built them all up. Started some of them. So we knew that, (for) what Bakersfield needed, that I was the best person in the group to come here. I found a community that's very receptive. I found an administration that was more than receptive.' Since his arrival Adventist's heart unit has increased the number of life saving heart surgeries from 30 in the year prior to his arrival to 130 – a four fold increase. '(We) started doing more complex cases here than they were doing (in Bakersfield previously) because some of those cases, a lot of those cases, were being referred out (to hospitals in other cities),' Stewart said. 'That's why the volume was so low. So we're doing more complex cases here. We have plans to have the volume for the next couple years, the volume should grow at least 20 to 25 percent per year.' He has also helped introduce newer techniques and procedures that have cut recovery time for heart surgeries from three to six months to three to six weeks. The direct descendant of slaves – and a slave master – Stewart was born in Central Mississippi. For most of his childhood he was too young to know he was poor. His family moved to Chicago during one of the nation's great post-war migrations. '(The issues were) racism and poverty and lack of employment in Mississippi,' he said, 'and there were better opportunities to get on that Illinois Central Railroad and go north.' He comes from an accomplished family. In 1964, his uncle Robert G. Clark Jr. ran for the Mississippi legislature and defeated the white incumbent to become that state's first Black representative since Reconstruction. He endured insults and ostracism before becoming a force in state politics, and he held the seat for 36 years. Clark's son Bryant W. Clark – Robert Stewart's cousin – succeeded his father. Now, in this century, Stewart is the accomplished one, and the Central Valley of California is the beneficiary. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A bill banning cell phones in school for kids in K-8 is one step closer to becoming law
Cell phones can be a big distraction and that's why some lawmakers want them to be off-limits to some Georgia students during the school day. A bill that would ban cell phones in public schools in kindergarten through 8th grade moved one step closer to becoming law on Tuesday. 'I would definitely be for it. I think kids need to be focused on learning, not be distracted by social media,' parent Robert Stewart said. While some people like the idea of a school cell phone ban, others see the benefits of letting students have some access to their phones. 'I like that we can know where he is,' Parent Barbara Myers said. Myers said her 9-year-old grandson sometimes calls her during lunch to talk about plans after school. 'I think it should be limited. I think they should not be able to use them in class time,' Myers said. RELATED STORIES: Georgia student phone, tablet ban passes House vote, heads to state Senate Ban on student phones in Georgia public schools back up for review in House Education Committee Schools participating in cellphone lock-up pilot program says discipline issues are down Tuesday afternoon, the Georgia Senate Children and Families Committee passed the Distraction-free Education Act" by a four-to one-vote. 'The data overwhelmingly shows us. And we know just really by instinct, that cell phones in classrooms are not conducive to education,' State Rep. Scott Hilton said. The bill prohibits public school students in grades kindergarten through eight from accessing personal electronic devices during the school day. That includes smartphones, headphones, tablets and smartwatches. School-issued electronic devices could still be used. The bill also includes exceptions for IEPs and medical plans. 'Of course there probably need to be some things in place for emergencies to make sure their parents can get in touch with them,' Stewart said. The bill leaves that up to individual school systems. School districts also would come up with policies on storing devices and consequences for violations.
