October 2026

Mark Cunningham remanded after posing as plumber

A convicted s*x offender who posed as a plumber before repeatedly demanding that a teenager remove her clothes in her own home is being held in custody while he awaits sentence.

Mark Cunningham, 35, claimed he had been sent by the landlord when he turned up at the 19-year-old woman’s home in Carluke, Lanarkshire, in August 2026.

The court heard that the woman allowed Cunningham into her home because she knew there had been plumbing problems.

He had no identification and was not wearing work clothes. After looking at the boiler he claimed he needed to check the bathroom taps upstairs.

Once inside, he closed the bathroom door and repeatedly told her to take off her clothes. She refused and managed to leave the room.

Her mother confronted Cunningham, who gave his first name before leaving. He later returned and was filmed banging on the front door. Police were called, and CCTV helped identify him.

Cunningham appeared at Lanark Sheriff Court, where he admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner. His solicitor said he had an acute drug and alcohol problem and claimed he had no recollection of the incident.

Sheriff David Bernard remanded him in custody and deferred sentencing until November for reports. He has not yet been sentenced for the Carluke offence. Cunningham was placed on the s*x offenders’ register after his lawyer accepted that the case had a significant s*xual element. Prosecutors are also seeking a non-harassment order.

Previous conviction

In a separate case, Cunningham admitted touching a 14-year-old girl on the buttocks without her consent during a gathering in Prestonpans, East Lothian, in May 2022. At Edinburgh Sheriff Court on 30 May 2024, he was fined £520 and placed on the s*x offenders’ register for five years after pleading guilty to s*xual assault.