A known paedophile who operates a Bed & Breakfast in Scotland should be featured on the sexual offenders’ registry, demands one of his victims. In his previous role as a primary school teacher in Australia in 1985, Gary Bloom, aged 69, sexually assaulted his 10-year-old neighbour, Stewart Carter.
Despite migrating to Scotland, Bloom made a trip back to Australia in 2021 where he was detained for his crimes. However, after his conviction for three counts of indecent assault, he was permitted to walk free and return to Scotland.
Stewart Carter, now aged 49, asserts, “Given that Bloom has been legally authorized to return to Scotland, it would be pragmatic for him to be included in the sexual offenders’ registry. I don’t comprehend why his geographical location should allow him to evade these responsibilities. He’s a registered child sex offender with unrestricted access to children residing at his B&B.”
Carter re-established contact with Police Scotland regarding Bloom, who currently runs a guest house in Aberdeen, and has been enrolled on the sex offenders’ record in Australia permanently. “I wanted to explore whether Bloom could experience similar restrictions as he would have in the State of Victoria, such as being obligated to report his whereabouts and submit his DNA. The Scottish police informed me that he was not known to them. I was only 10 when Bloom initiated his abuse,” said Carter.
“Multiple incidents of abuse occurred over several months. I still have strong memories of the incidents but I put it aside, thinking I didn’t matter enough for it to be reported,” remembers Stewart Carter.
In 2019, feeling an urgent need for Bloom to be held accountable, Carter approached his local police station to report the crimes. With the Australian police secretly listening to a call, Bloom conceded his misconduct.
“During the course of the conversation, which lasted about an hour and a half, I discovered he runs a B&B in Scotland, and occasionally works offshore. Though he didn’t recall me specifically, he stated his actions were assimilated with the things he was doing at that time in his life. However, amidst the Covid pandemic, police here were unable to extradite him,” continued Carter.
When Bloom returned to Australia in 2021 for unexpected family reasons, he was arrested. “He was arrested and charged with several offenses,” says Carter. The stress of reporting Bloom’s crimes and subsequent trial had a significant impact on him.
“Throughout the trial, I was just a number. I began struggling with PTSD issues,” shares Carter, who was unemployed at the time. Despite these trials, Bloom was sentenced to three years’ probation in Australia and did not spend a night in jail.
“Although he was on the sexual offenders’ registry, he was allowed to leave for Scotland around Christmas. He took no responsibility for his actions, stating he was merely exploring his sexuality. Now living an openly gay life, he dismissed his past actions as an exploration of being gay. He was much revered in the Aberdeen gay community. He even participated in Pride parades organized by Shell, his then employer,” reports Stewart.
“His wife, who married him after he first faced charges in 1990, is aware of his status as a child sex offender. Such people exist in the shadows. The fact is that they usually do not offend just once. There is a seven-year gap between his known offenses. His departure to work on oil rigs in another part of the world speaks volumes,” asserts Carter.
A response to these allegations was solicited from Bloom via The Record. His wife’s response was, “It was 39 years ago.”
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