Father of four-year-old son abused for being gay by former schoolmate took his own life, court hears
Scott McIntosh struggled with mental health issues and slid into a depression
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
A deep-sea diver who was abused for being gay by a former schoolmate took his own life.
Scott McIntosh, a diver from Aberdeen, came out as gay and following his coming out, he received a series of hateful calls from oil rig worker and former schoolmate Kevin Edgar.
After struggling with mental health issues and sliding into a depression, the 28-year-old diver took his own life, The Sunday Post reported.
The Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how Edgar had known Scott since school and while on trips to England and Glasgow, Scott received a number of anonymous calls but recognised Edgar’s voice.
Edgar was originally charged under the Communications Act 2003 with making threatening phone calls and ‘electronic communications messages’ to Scott over a four month period.
But he pleaded guilty to a reduce charge of only calls made by him in August which were said to be “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character” and contained “homophobic remarks”.
Last week, Edgar, 29, admitted to the charge of making the obscene phone calls, aggravated by prejudice relating to sexual orientation.
A source close to Scott – who has a four-year-old son – said he suffered from months of abuse and had been a factor in him suffering from depression.
He said: “Scott did suffer. These homophobic emails and calls had a devastating impact on Scott’s mental health.
“Ultimately I would say they did contribute to his suicide.”
Now, Scott’s family and campaigners have called for more help and awareness for those suffering mental health issues and a crackdown on hate crimes.
A source said: “Scott had everything to live for, becoming a father was the pivotal point in his life.
“He loved his son so much. He was a wonderful father and did so much with him when they were together. It’s heart-breaking.
“Hundreds of people turned out for his funeral at Aberdeen Crematorium in March. It was packed out. There were people standing outside. Everyone was crying.”