Search results for Fife

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A “sly, manipulative” child abuser from Fife, who asked a schoolgirl to change into his Rangers top before grabbing her wrists and raping her, has been jailed.

Steven Banks went on to rape, sexually assault and attempt to rape another girl over a period of more than two years, beginning when he was 30 and she was only 10.

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A Fife paedophile found with dozens of child abuse images – including girls as young as four being raped – has been placed on curfew.

Michael Bowie previously admitted downloading indecent images of children over a 19 month period, as well as distributing or showing the images over 11 months.

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A Fife funeral director has admitted sexually assaulting a woman at her home in Methil.

Alex Little appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court and pleaded guilty to cuddling his victim, unclipping her bra and fondling her breasts, all while she was intoxicated and incapable of giving consent at the property on May 6 this year.

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A postgraduate theology student carried out sexual assaults on fellow students at St Andrews University after claiming he was conducting radiation testing for the Ministry of Defence following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

John Beaumont subjected two male students and a female student to fake medical examinations and got one victim to sign the “Official Secrets Act” before inserting a needle into his genital area.

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A man from Fife has been jailed after pleading guilty to possessing indecent images of children.

Officers searched Grant McAuley’s home address in Dunfermline in July 2022 and found several hundred stills and videos on devices belonging to him.

He was arrested and the 24-year-old pleaded guilty at Dunfermline Sheriff Court in August this year to offences relating to the possession and distribution of indecent images.

He was jailed for two years when he appeared for sentencing on Thursday, 21 September.

Detective Inspector Adrian Ure, of Police Scotland’s National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Grant McAuley’s offending and behaviour was appalling. He showed utter contempt for the child victims and the horrific sexual abuse they suffered, in the images and videos he was viewing and sharing.

“In committing these crimes, McAuley believed that his online offending would go undetected. However, there is no hiding place, and as a result of our investigation he will now rightly face a custodial sentence and the consequences of his actions.”

"Any form of child sexual abuse is a serious criminal offence and is a priority for Police Scotland. We encourage anyone with concerns about a child at risk of abuse, or a potential victim, to contact police immediately.”

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A former DJ who sexually abused and exploited young boys has been jailed for six years.

David Moran, 51, targeted his three victims in Fife between 1988 and 1991.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard one victim was shown pornographic magazines and videos. Moran was said to have performed sex acts in front of the boy before abusing him.

A second child was also shown sex films and subjected to abuse. The court heard Moran had a photograph of his victim performing a sex act, which he threatened to disclose if he revealed what was taking place.

A third boy was also exposed to pornography by Moran and sexually abused.

One victim told the court that he was aged around 14 when he watched pornography in Moran's bedroom, while another said he was 13 or 14 when Moran offered him money to make a video of him performing a solo sex act.

The court heard one victim suffered nightmares and flashbacks after being subjected to serious sexual abuse by the older teenage Moran.

During his sentencing on Thursday, judge Norman McFadyen said he was satisfied that Moran had groomed the victims as he was an older male who had money, a car and what seemed like a "glamorous lifestyle" as an events and hospital radio DJ.

The judge said: "Clearly your behaviour has had a significant impact on them through into their adult lives.

"I am satisfied no sentence other than imprisonment is appropriate."

Moran was arrested and charged in November 2020 after a Police Scotland investigation.

He denied a series of offences during an earlier trial but was found guilty of three counts of indecent conduct towards children.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson pointed out Moran's age at the time of the attacks and said he had no other history of offending.

As well as the six-year jail term, Moran was placed on the sex offenders' register for an indeterminate period.

The judge also imposed non-harassment orders, prohibiting Moran from contacting his victims for eight years.

Detective Constable Kenneth Watt, from Fife's Public Protection Unit, said: "Moran showed utter disregard for the impact his crimes would have on his victims.

"I want to commend them for reporting these offences to us and for having the strength to stand up in court. Moran is now being held to account for his actions.

"Nothing can change the past, but I hope that Moran being behind bars will offer the victims some comfort as they continue to move forward with their lives."

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A serial rapist who targeted three women in Fife while they were sleeping has been jailed for 10 years.

The High Court in Dundee heard Jody Petrie, 37, attacked his victims while they were under the influence of drink or drugs after they fell asleep.

Petrie denied the offences, which took place from 2017 over four years in Tayport and St Andrews.

Judge Lady Drummond said Petrie would continue to pose a threat to women and had not shown any remorse.

He will also be supervised for three years following his release from jail.

Lady Drummond said: "You raped these women when they were at their most vulnerable.

"They suffered not only the physical impact, but long-standing psychological harm."

Petrie was found guilty by a jury of three separate charges of rape involving three different women.

The court heard he attacked his first victim in Tayport in 2017.

The jury found him guilty of raping his second victim in St Andrews in January 2019, and another woman in the same town in 2020.

Two further sex attack charges were found to be not proven by the jury.

Petrie also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A government worker sexually assaulted a sleeping woman by tickling her feet and touching and kissing her breasts.

Martin Sharp pled guilty to the sexual assault when he appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

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A non-binary sex attacker who molested a sleeping child during a campaign of abuse has been allowed to walk free from court. Oliver James Bond, who changed his identity after being convicted of a sex attack on a transgender victim in a previous case, dodged prison for a second time.

The 32-year-old, who was called Lucas Cole throughout the latest trial, started sexually assaulting the boy while he was 15 or 16 years old. A jury at Perth Sheriff Court found that Bond carried out further attacks on the same victim over a period of six years.

Bond was found guilty of indecently assaulting the boy at an address in Milnathort between July 1, 2010 - when the victim was 15 - and December 31, 2010. Bond carried out a serious sex attack on the boy while he was asleep and incapable of giving consent.

The fiend was found guilty of sexually assaulting the same victim in Kinross between September 5, 2013 and September 4, 2014 in an attack which started with Bond repeatedly grabbing the teenager's private parts. Bond struggled with him, and pulled down his trousers and underwear, before performing a sex act on him.

The jury also found Bond guilty of sexually assaulting the victim in Milnathort between September 5, 2014 and September 4, 2016 by touching his private parts while he was asleep and incapable of consenting. The Crown gave special notice to lead evidence of Bond sexually assaulting a transgender victim in Perth on 14 May 2018 whilst they were intoxicated and could not consent.

Bond denied indecently and sexually assaulting the male complainer in the latest trial and claimed they were consensual acts between "friends with benefits". The jury took an hour to find them guilty. Jurors heard the victim describe how he had been sleeping and had woken up to discover Bond carrying out a sex act upon him.

The accused confirmed they were Oliver James Bond to the court clerk, but was referred to throughout the trial and sentencing as Lucas Cole and mainly by the pronoun "they/them". Sheriff David Hall placed Bond on the Sex Offenders Register for five years and under social work supervision for 18 months.

They were placed on a curfew for six months and ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.

The sheriff said: "With some hesitation I am going to allow you to remain at liberty. You were convicted by the jury of all three charges. You just don't get the seriousness of this matter."

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, noted that the complainer had spent further time with the accused after the attacks and had given evidence in his defence in the transgender case. He said his client would be "particularly vulnerable" in prison.

But Sheriff Hall said: "That doesn't excuse his behaviour, which he doesn't appear to accept any responsibility for at all. The complainer came across as a pretty vulnerable individual."

In October 2019, Bond was convicted of sexually assaulting a transgender woman at a flat in Perth. She gave evidence in the latest trial to show the similarity of the attacks.

Fiscal depute Lora Apostalova said the incidents were "strikingly similar" as the victims had been asleep and incapable of giving or withholding consent in both cases. The transgender witness, who cannot be named for legal reasons, she how she was sexually assaulted at Bond's Perth home in May 2018.

She told how they downed a bottle of Midori and watched The Big Bang Theory before she fell asleep. Later, she said she woke to find Cole touching her penis under her clothing.

Ms Apostalova said: "She was not able to give full consent to what was happening to her body. My trousers were definitely not unbuttoned when I lost consciousness. Oliver was touching me. He had his hand under my underwear."

Bond was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work at the High Court in Edinburgh on October 21, 2019. Judge Lord Tyre said it would have been an "extremely distressing experience" for the woman.

He also ordered Bond to engage in offence-related work under social work supervision.

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A retired British Transport Police officer sexually abused a child for five years, starting when she was aged just nine.

Married Christopher Aldridge, 76, appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and pled guilty to two charges of using lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards the youngster.

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A sick barman used ‘JimmySavile’ as the password on the account he used to download 2,000 indecent images of children.

Iain Syme’s illegal hoard referenced the disgraced former television star, who is widely understood to be one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders.

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A foster carer who subjected two little girls to repeated serious sexual assaults has been jailed for 10 years.

Rhoderick McGregor, 59, subjected the two children to sexual abuse ordeals in Kirkcaldy, between January 2006 and February 2014.

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A pervert scout leader from Fife, who sexually abused young boys in his group, has been jailed for 45 months.

Police have welcomed the jailing of John Somerville for historic indecent assaults and behaviour they described as abhorrent.

Somerville, 57, plied the boys with alcohol, started games which ended with the boys having to take their clothes off as forfeits and sexually abused them. The three victims were aged between 13 and 14. He preyed on the youngsters after taking them on camping trips across Scotland in the 1990s. Two of his victims were in court to see Somerville sent to prison.

He had avoided jail after being convicted of similar offences in 2006 and had gone on to run a gardening business. Somerville, of Greenwell Park, Glenrothes, was sentenced at Dunfermline Sheriff Court having previously admitted a catalogue of offending against the boys.

On various occasions between1996 and 1998 in Glenrothes, within a vehicle travelling to various locations within Fife and Glasgow and at various camping locations in Scotland, he indecently assaulted a boy then aged 14 years.

Somerville also admitted that on various occasions between June 1996 and 1997 in Glenrothes and various camping locations in Scotland, he used lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards another boy then aged 13. He also admitted that on an occasion between December 1998 and February 1999, he indecently assaulted a third boy then aged 14.

Defence solicitor Peter Robertson said, This was abhorrent and predatory behaviour and that is accepted by him. He is full of remorse and understanding. He is not asking for forgiveness as he says he doesnt deserve it. He accepts he was abusing his position as leader. Hes very regretful about the long-standing pain and suffering and what hes stolen from their childhood. He doesnt recall some things but doesnt deny they happened.

Mr Robertson said his client has a son: He has thought about how he would feel if someone had done that to his child. He feels completely disgusted about that, added the solicitor.

Sheriff William Gilchrist said it was not clear from the social work report whether Somerville was indeed remorseful. The sheriff said his actions were a serious breach of trust, involved a degree of planning and targeted vulnerable children. He jailed Somerville for 45 months backdated to 9th March when he was remanded in custody. Somerville will also be subject to a 12-month supervised release order and was put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

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A man who was convicted of violent offences and serious sexual assaults has been jailed for 10 years.

James Christopher Armour, 57, was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Stirling on Thursday, 23 March 2023.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow today, Wednesday, 31 May, 2023.

The offences were committed in the Fife area between 1983 and 1989.

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A Fife man caught with more than 90,000 extreme porn images and videos had amassed the collection over the course of 15 years.

Gary Gray had a server running in his garage and dozens of hard drives containing the vile images were found.