A trans-identified male from Galashiels has been suspended from his position with the Scouts after it was learned that he was sharing hardcore pornography and drug promotions on his public social media profiles. Gabby Smith, 41, operated the profiles under his own name, doing nothing to obscure his curation of inappropriate content.
While it is unclear how long Smith had been a volunteer with Scouts, he acted in the capacity of a leader with youth ages 10 to 15 years old. Scouts is the largest mixed volunteer-led organization for young people in Scotland, with over 35,000 youth as young as 6 involved in the various programs being offered.
Smith was involved at the Melrose branch of Scouts in the Scottish Borders, and had just recently been awarded the Wood Badge, which is issued to adult volunteers once they have completed their leadership training.
Smith, whose real name is Gavin Horstead, came under scrutiny by Scouts after they discovered he was sharing inappropriate content under his own name on social media. Smith operates multiple Facebook and X profiles which appear to be almost exclusively dedicated to circulating pornography and advertising himself for sex.
On his X account, which was first established in 2019, almost every single post shared by Smith is pornographic in nature, primarily featuring young men in erotic positions or exposing their anuses or genitalia. Smith appears to have made no effort to obscure his identity in his explicit online profiles, proudly using his name and photos across all platforms, along with a number of other pieces of identifying information.
Some parents noted that if an adult was easily able to find his social media accounts, so would tech-savvy youth.
Speaking to The Sun, a Scouts spokesperson said: “The safety of young people in our care is our number one priority. Gabby Smith is prohibited from all contact with Scouts whilst inquiries are conducted.”
This is not the first time a trans-identified male has been removed from a youth organization in the UK for inappropriate public conduct. In 2022, a frenzy was sparked in the United Kingdom after a trans-identified male with a disturbing social media history became the lead Commissioner for the Southwell division of Girlguding, the nation’s Girl Guides franchise.
Monica Sulley, a male who identifies as a woman, became the lead Commissioner for the Southwell division of Girlguiding in July of 2021, but came to widespread attention later on in the year after concerning social media posts emerged.
Sulley had made posts on multiple platforms of photos of himself posing with weapons, dressed in bondage gear, and referring to himself as “Mistress.”
Some members of the public who attempted to contact Girlguiding to submit complaints about Sulley were later contacted by police and threatened with arrest.