A CHURCH of Scotland minister was full of shame and guilt when confronted with a sex secret he had concealed for 26 years, a court heard yesterday, writes Chris Holme.

Keith Steven, 58, now of Bolton Drive, Mount Florida, Glasgow, told police: ''It is a matter not only of greatest regret to me but also to the good name of others who may be tarnished by my actions.''

Haddington Sheriff Court was told Steven admitted conducting himself in a shameless and indecent manner to a 14-year-old boy on a Scripture Union camp at Scougall, near North Berwick, in July 1972.

Procurator-fiscal Angus Reith said Steven was in charge of the camp and although not ordained, was known as The Reverend. The boy, from Glasgow, had been a junior leader at the camp but at the end of the fortnight started to feel homesick and physically unwell.

Steven invited the boy into his tent, where he stroked and fondled him. Mr Reith said the boy was very scared and disgusted at what had happened during the night. ''Clearly at the time, he felt that he had nowhere to go,'' he said.

The boy retained links with the church and often met Steven at church functions in Glasgow, but he kept his secret until Steven sent him a Christmas card in 1996, saying he had become an ordained minister at a parish in Glasgow.

The boy, now 40, remembered the experience at the Scripture Union camp and decided to report the matter to the police.

Sheriff George Presslie deferred sentence until June 9 for reports from a clinical psychologist.