Ocean Terminal

Anna Kaminska tried to snatch the young girl by enticing her towards the back door of the H&M store at Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh.

Kaminska, a Polish national, told the youngster to “just come with me” while the girl’s mother stood browsing just feet away during the abduction attempt in March last year.

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The girl was seen starting to go off with the masked woman, who had her face covered with a scarf and a large pair of sunglasses, before her mother spotted what was going on and intervened.

CCTV footage of the incident from the store’s cameras was shown to a jury at Edinburgh Sheriff Court this week where 26-year-old Kaminska was standing trial accused of attempted abduction of the child.

Kaminska had denied she had tried to grab the girl at the H&M clothing store at Ocean Terminal shopping centre but a jury found her guilty by a majority decision at the capital court on Tuesday.

She was also unanimously found guilty of failing to appear for an earlier hearing, while she was acquitted of two charges of shoplifting.

Sheriff Peter Braid was given three expert reports from practitioners who had examined Kaminska and their recommendations were for her to be placed under medical care at the Orchard Clinic at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital.

Sheriff Braid told Kaminska: “In relation to charge one I am satisfied the criteria for a Compulsion Order has been met.”

The sheriff told the woman the order would mean she would be under the care of the medical team at the Royal Edinburgh for at least six months.

On Monday, the girl’s mother, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, gave evidence to the jury that she was out shopping at Ocean Terminal with her two children at around 7pm on March 28 last year.

The 42-year-old mum said: “We were in H&M and my daughter was on the other side of a stand playing with the jewellery.

“The next minute I could hear someone saying to her ‘just come with me, just come with me’.

“I could hear her scooter and heard her starting to go off (with the woman).

“They were going towards the back door.

“I could see they were not holding hands but I said ‘what’s going on?’

The mother said when she confronted the disguised woman she mumbled ‘I didn’t know you were not allowed to do this’.

The mum added the woman told her she had ‘a bad back’ before fleeing the store.

The mum added she could only see the woman’s cheeks due to her disguise and that the woman had “an accent”.

Cheryl Booker, dept manager at H&M, said she was approached by “a flustered customer” who told her about the abduction attempt.

Mrs Booker said the alleged abductor was pointed out to her and she immediately informed security.