A convicted paedophile, Jeremy Bird, has pleaded guilty to flying a drone over a primary school so he could look at young kids
Jeremy Bird, 47, has been accused of using the lightweight aircraft to ‘watch’ the young children.
A court heard that on one occasion, Jeremy Bird caused one pupil to ‘run and cry’ as he used the device to follow them.
Jeremy Bird accepted a charge of recklessly or negligently causing or permitting an aircraft to endanger a person or property at Salisbury Magistrates Court.
But, Jeremy Bird said that he ‘didn’t have any control over it’ and is only pleading guilty because he did not have the ‘appropriate qualification’ to fly the aircraft.
Elizabeth Valera told magistrates that the charge relates to the use of a drone over Pembroke Park Primary School in Salisbury.
She said: “The Crown say he’s flying them over primary school children to watch the children.
“Jeremy Bird accepts he’s flying them [but said in interviews] that he didn’t have control over it.
“There’s one video where a child is actually followed, and they’re running and crying while he follows them with a drone.”
Valera told the panel that Jeremy Bird had previously tried to engage primary school children in conversations outside of the school.
At a hearing in Winchester Crown Court, Hants, Jeremy Bird also pleaded guilty to two charges of making indecent photographs.
These included Category A images, which are the most serious kind.
Prosecutor Kellie Enever reminded the judge that Jeremy Bird ‘does have previous relevant convictions, albeit back in 2011.
Jeremy Bird will be sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on July 18.
He was granted bail until then on the condition that he does not have any unsupervised contact with any children under the age of 18 and that he does not enter any school grounds.
Jeremy Bird was handed a community order in 2011 after he was caught with indecent images.
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