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Sunshine on Leith actor Kevin Guthrie has been freed from prison after he won an appeal to cut his three-year sentence for sexual assault. The 34-year-old actor was jailed last May for an attack on a woman at a flat in Glasgow's west end. But while his sentence was reduced to two years, Guthrie failed in a bid to quash his conviction at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh. A judgement explaining the decision will be published in due course. Defence advocate Ian Duguid QC successfully argued that the sentence imposed on Guthrie was too lengthy given the circumstances of the offence. Mr Duguid told judges Lord Carloway, Lord Pentland and Lord Matthews that people in similar positions to the actor were given shorter custodial sentences. Mr Duguid told the court that the actor suffered from "defective representation" during his initial trial and should have his conviction quashed. He added: "The case was not handled properly. There were failures in the case." The appeal judges agreed and reduced Guthrie's sentence from three years to two. The decision resulted in Guthrie being released from custody immediately as he had already served the equivalent of a two-year prison term. Guthrie had watched the appeal proceedings via videolink from Dumfries Prison. Forensic evidence During his trial last year, Guthrie had denied the charge and told Glasgow Sheriff Court he had only "helped" the woman after she fell ill. However, the jury was told that his DNA was found inside her underwear. Guthrie, who also starred in the Fantastic Beasts films and Netflix series The English Game, was found guilty after a four-day trial and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. The attack happened at the flat of Scott Reid - a fellow actor, best known as Methadone Mick in BBC's Still Game - on 30 September 2017. The 29-year-old woman had been due to meet the men at a bar in Glasgow but Mr Reid received a call from a taxi driver to collect her as she appeared ill. He and Guthrie helped the woman into the flat in Glasgow's Kelvindale and put her on a bed. The court heard Mr Reid called NHS 24 and left Guthrie in the room "to make sure she was OK". The woman told the court: "I remember my top being lifted up and my bra being held down." She was groped by Guthrie before he performed a sex act on her. Guthrie carried out a further two sexual acts and kissed her on the mouth. The court heard he would stop when Mr Reid came into the room.

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Gary Travers has a string of convictions for sexual offences dating back to 1996, including committing an indecent act outside a woman's home after cutting wires to her security lights. A notorious sex offender is back behind bars just days after leaving prison. Gary Travers, 46, was released from Barlinnie after being convicted of performing a sex act in front of a female prison guard. But he was back in the dock at Hamilton Sheriff Court after flouting strict rules around his release. The serial pervert has a string of convictions for sexual offences dating back to 1996. His crimes include committing an indecent act outside a woman's house after cutting wires on her security lights. He was jailed for two years in 2017 for breaching the terms of a sex offenders' prevention order and a clinical psychologist has described him as 'a persistent, high-risk sex offender'. His record also includes a four-year sentence for throwing a cup of urine over a sheriff. Travers was jailed for 26 months following the incident with the prison guard, and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years. However, he was released almost immediately due to time already served in prison awaiting trial. But when he failed to adhere to a condition requiring him to notify authorities of a change of address, he found himself back in the dock this week, where he was sentenced to serve a further six months in jail. Depute fiscal Abby Seal said: "The accused was placed on the sex offenders' register on the 20th of August last year and required to note a change of address within 72 hours. "On the 1st of September the police had cause to speak to the accused and it was apparent he had moved and did not comply with notification requirements to update his address." Ian Smart, defending, said: "This is a technical breach. He was released unexpectedly. "The sentence imposed and the length of time spent in custody meant he was released immediately from the prison. "The police knew where he was but he had not updated the authorities and that is where this arises from." Sheriff Millar said: "This should not affect your release date but it will be on your record should you breach the notification requirements again."

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John Wood was convicted at Glasgow High Court of raping two different women at the flat in Dowanhill, now one of his victims has spoken of her ordeal as he faces prison. A charity worker is facing jail for raping two women in a Glasgow flat. John Wood worked with some of the most vulnerable people in the country before he was finally brought to justice for the terrifying attacks. Now one of his victims has spoken of her ordeal after he was convicted of rape at Glasgow High Court, the Daily Record reports. She revealed the brute held her hostage and carried out the serious sex attack after she broke up with him while he was on holiday. The 44-year-old said: "I caught him openly flirting with a girl he'd been with in the past via a Facebook chat so I decided to end the relationship. "The night he returned from holiday was the first time he raped me. "I was in complete shock and disbelief at what happened and Wood, at this time, was cold and dismissive towards me. "The next time he raped me was a few days later when I returned to the flat for some things. He held me captive in the bedroom of his flat for what felt like forever, but was actually maybe 45 minutes to an hour. "I tried to fight him off but he prevented me from escaping. "I was absolutely broken and traumatised." Wood worked for a time with Scottish Association for Mental Health and homelessness charities Simon Community Scotland and Turning Point Scotland. The woman later discovered he had also raped a 34-year-old. She said: "This had a massive impact on my mental health. "I had already been struggling but continued to work full-time though I had dropped out of uni in my third year due to the impact of the trauma. "I stupidly thought, as many victims of sexual violence do, that it was only me who had been assaulted." His other woman was also his girlfriend. He first raped her early in their relationship. His first victim said: "He also raped her at some point during this initial period of meeting. "She was manipulated and coerced in the relationship and after he initially raped her in Glasgow he raped her a further two times in England. "One day, she looked on his phone and laptop and found umpteen messages from men and women, mostly men, with details of times they had met in hotels and in her home for sex. "When she confronted him about this, the relationship ended. It was during this time he raped her for the last time." At the High Court last month, Wood was convicted of raping his first victim and attempting to rape her at a flat in Dowanhill. He was convicted of raping his second victim at the same flat a month later and will be sentenced today. Kenneth Crawford, director of finance and resources at Turning Point Scotland said Wood "was employed by us for a short time before the incidents took place. At the time of employment, we can verify that all mandatory checks were carried out". Billy Watson, chief executive at SAMH, said Wood was "employed by SAMH for two months" to May 15, 2015, but "did not complete his probation and was dismissed after being found to have breached -confidentiality." Simon Community Scotland was approached for comment.

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A PREDATORY sex fiend who raped two young women and a 14-year-old girl has been jailed. Kenneth Bright, 35, targeted his vulnerable victims at flats in Johnstone, Paisley and Glasgow. All three suffered rape ordeals while they were under the influence and incapable of consenting to sex. Sentencing Bright to seven years behind bars at the High Court in Edinburgh today, judge Lord Tyre told him: "Each, for their own reasons, was a vulnerable individual in need of help." Bright had denied a string of charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of raping all three victims. The first offence took place at a flat in the Bellahouston area of Glasgow on February 25, 2014. Bright sexually assaulted and raped the woman while she was asleep and under the influence of drink or another substance, as well as after she woke up. He subjected a second sleeping woman, who was also under the influence, to a rape attack at a flat in Johnstone in September 2019. His third victim was a 14-year-old girl, who was subjected to a sex act and rape after she fell asleep at a flat in Paisley in February 2020 while she was under the influence. Defence solicitor advocate Paul Mullen said Bright's position remained the same as at trial but he accepted that he faced a "lengthy sentence" after the guilty verdicts were returned by a jury. Lord Tyre pointed out that, although these were Bright's first convictions for sex crimes, he has a long history of previous offending. The court also heard he was assessed as posing a medium risk of sexual re-offending. Lord Tyre said he was concerned at the lack of understanding on Bright's part on the drastic effect his actions may have had on the victims. As well as imposing the prison sentence, he ordered that the rapist and former robber should be under supervision and monitored for a further three-year period. Bright has also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. Police Scotland said it welcomed the sentencing of Bright.

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Alexander Rafferty was jailed for six years and handed an Order for Lifelong Restriction at the High Court in Glasgow after being found guilty of horrific sex attacks on three women. A serial rapist who once cheated death after plunging from the top tier of Celtic Park has been handed a life sentence. Alexander Rafferty put three women through horrendous ordeals, including two who were effectively strangers. The 56 -year-old told one of the victims: "I will show you what f*****g rape is." He also made a woman stare terrified into his eyes as he attacked her. Lady Rae imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) at the High Court in Glasgow. Rafferty returned to the dock having been convicted last August of three rape charges. He must also serve a minimum six years behind bars. Rafferty made headlines in 1999 when he tumbled from the Jock Stein stand at Parkhead during a powderkeg Celtic and Rangers clash. He remarkably only suffered a broken nose following the horror fall. Rafferty was captured on TV waving and giving a thumbs up as he was stretchered out the ground. But the rapist showed no emotion as he was led handcuffed back to the cells. The crimes happened between August 2018 and April 2020 at a flat in the city's Wyndford and at the predator's home in Royston. The first victim had been in a relationship with Rafferty. The woman - who has since passed away - told police how Rafferty once flew into a rage because she was not getting ready fast enough prior to a night out. Recalling a sex attack, she said Rafferty vowed to show her what "f*****g rape is". She added: "He ripped off my clothes. He was choking me and I could hardly breathe. "I could not get the words out, he was choking me that much." Rafferty got chatting to the next victim in Glasgow city centre in late January 2020 and she went back to his flat. He went on to threaten her, demanded she take off her clothes and refused to let her leave. After Rafferty raped her, the terrified woman dialled 999 - but ended up too scared to speak on the phone. The final victim was abused in a similar way after Rafferty again took her back to his home. She ended up attacking Rafferty with a screwdriver to get him away. The woman fled from the flat, ran away and managed to flag down a passing police officer. Prosecutor David Logan said at the trial construction worker Rafferty had been "predatory, opportunistic and sexually abusive" with his victims. Iain McSporran QC, defending, told the hearing yesterday: "It will be apparent (from pre-sentencing reports) that he maintains an emphatic denial of his guilt. "He feels that he is being punished for maintaining the denial and is being expected to admit to something that is not true." Lady Rae said Rafferty was a "callous individual" who has shown "no remorse". Sentencing, the judge also said: "All of the rapes were violent and degrading. "What is so disturbing is that some of the evidence suggested you were enjoying what you were doing. "In one case, you insisted that a victim looked into your eyes while she was being raped." She stated Rafferty will not be freed until he is deemed "no longer a serious risk to the public".

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A HEADTEACHER who was extradited from Spain has been convicted of carrying out horrific sexual abuse in Renfrewshire. Vile rapist James Berry, 77, preyed on two women, committing a string of attacks spanning three decades. The crimes took place in Renfrew and Houston, as well as houses in Govan and Crookston, mainly between 1963 and 1987. Berry is the owner and headteacher of exclusive British school King Richard III College, in Mallorca, where he had lived for 30 years before being hauled back to Scotland in 2019 to face justice. He is now behind bars after he was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow today of a total of five charges, including raping both women. Berry was also said to have been abusive in Spain and Canada. The oldest of the two victims once told a priest how she had suffered. However, Berry insisted it was "rubbish" that he had used "controlling" behaviour on the woman. He told the court: "I was not a dictator." Prosecutors said the woman suffered at his violent hands, including being sexually assaulted, punched and grabbed by the throat. The second victim recalled being abused at Glasgow's Hilton Hotel and during a driving lesson. Quizzed about these allegations by his QC Claire Mitchell, Berry said: "She was never abused, I can assure you." Miss Mitchell put it to him: "It is said you ordered her to do things, she was compliant and scared of you, that she did your bidding sexually." Berry denied this and told jurors: "I have been teaching for 50 years and I have a perfect record." Prosecutor Kath Harper later suggested to Berry that, if he was telling the truth, he was the target of "horrific allegations." He replied: "Yes." Berry, who spoke of a friendship with a former Rangers player, also said allegations against him had been made as part of a "criminal conspiracy" to take over his school. After the guilty verdict was delivered, Miss Harper told jurors Berry had been brought back to Scotland on a European Arrest Warrant. He had been living near a golf course in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca, with his wife and three young children. Judge Thomas Welsh QC deferred sentencing until February 28 for background reports. He told Berry: "I am not prepared to continue bail, so you will be remanded meantime." Berry had been accompanied during the trial by a woman who works with him at the school in Spain. He waved to her as he was led to the cells.

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Abdul Samad preyed on the 20-year-old victim while she waited for an Uber and carried out his assault while en route to a hot food delivery elsewhere in the city. A man pretending to be private hire driver subjected a terrified young woman desperate to get home to sexual attack. Abdul Samad preyed on the 20-year-old victim while she waited for an Uber at 5am on Wallace Street in Glasgow. The 39-year-old assaulted her repeatedly as he drove his hot food delivery route after tricking her into believing he was a private hire driver. He was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting the woman but failed to appear for the verdict or sentencing and a warrant has now been issued for his arrest. The victim had been drinking with her friends in Glasgow before going to a pals flat just after 3am on the south side of the city, reports the Daily Record. At 5am, her friend called an Uber as the victims phone was out of battery and she walked to nearby Wallace Street to be picked up. Within minutes a silver Nissan Primera across the road spotted her and slowed down so she waved, assuming it was her Uber. The driver, Samad, crossed to stop in front of her and she approached the drivers window. The girl said: The car slowed down, so I wrongly identified it as my taxi. I told him where I was going and he said he could take me. The victim said she got in the front seat because it made her feel more in control. She said there was a Just Eat delivery bag and a child carrier in the back seat of married father of two Samads car. But as soon as she got in, Samad sped on to the nearby M74 on-ramp heading east, the opposite direction to her parents home. She said: Before we even reached the motorway he started acting inappropriately. He asked whether I had any undergarments on and touched my leg. He told me to relax and stop crying, multiple times. As they sped along the M74, Samad grabbed her hand and thrust it down his trousers. He then continued to sexually assault her in a prolonged ordeal. She said: He alternated doing that all the way on the motorway. I felt too scared to stop him. He was so much bigger than me. I tried to ignore him and just stared out the window. I was crying the whole time. Ten minutes before Samad picked her up, he was captured laughing on CCTV collecting an order from takeaway the Guru Grill in the citys Oswald street. To make the delivery, he took junction 2A off the M74 at Tollcross and headed along London Road and stopped outside his customers house while his victim was too petrified to move. He even returned to his car to retrieve a money bag while waiting for his customer, claiming he feared his victim might steal it. The young woman said that she was frozen by fear and didnt dare to escape or scream while Samad did his delivery. She said: I was so far from home. I was frozen by what had happened. I was too scared. I just wasnt sure what this man was capable of. Samads shift was finishing, so when he returned to the car, he told the weeping girl he would take her home. Now heading on the M74 west, Samad continued the sexual assault. It was almost 6am when he dropped her off near her west end home. Once through the door, she changed into her pyjamas and ran into her dads bedroom. Giving evidence, her father said: She was crying, Oh daddy. She hadnt called me daddy since she was a child. I knew something was seriously wrong. Hysterical, she told her dad she had been sexually assaulted and he immediately called the police. After a 10- day investigation, police officers had to force entry to Samads house to arrest him when he refused to answer the door. Samad initially claimed nothing had happened in the car until it emerged his DNA was on the girls clothes and the twisted predator then claimed she had forced his hand on her and touched him against his will. Speaking about her ordeal, the victim said: When you go through something as traumatic as that, you can never forget whats been done to you. You try to forget the face behind it. I did everything in my power to try and get that man out of my head. The girl, now 23, said that the experience was so traumatic she was placed on antidepressants and developed an eating disorder. Despite the weight of evidence against him, Samad, 39, had pled not guilty to the charges. Procurator Fiscal Depute Mark Allan asked him: You were a man in his late thirties and your position is that a 20-year-old stranger at the end of her night, desperate to get home, couldnt keep her hands off you? Are you seriously asking us to believe that position? Samad said yes, claiming he thought her behaviour was perhaps considered culturally acceptable. It took a jury of nine men and six women 15 minutes to find Samad guilty. Although he was carrying a Just Eat bag and the Guru Grill restaurant is registered with the food delivery companys app, Just Eat insisted that Samad was not on their list of registered delivery drivers. A spokesman for Just Eat said the company did not have anyone with Samads name listed as a driver and could not establish if he was doing a delivery through its app on the night of the attack. She said: Carrying a Just Eat bag is not evidence of somebody delivering on behalf of Just Eat because many self-employed couriers often deliver for multiple apps.

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Paul Hannah, 37, and Robert Aitman, 35, had previously been cellmates before ending up in separate prisons. Two convicted Scots paedophiles exchanged sick letters from behind bars discussing how they could rape and murder children. Paul Hannah, 37, and Robert Aitman, 35, had previously been cellmates before ending up in separate prisons and the duo were subject to strict Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (SOPO) due to earlier crimes. However, during almost seven months in 2020, they flouted it by repeatedly secretly writing to one another. At the High Court in Glasgow today some of what was penned - much too graphic to explain in detail - was read during a hearing. It included Hannah discussing harming a child and then arranging to "snuff a kid" out and "disposing" of the body while he also urged Aitman to try and convince a judge his fellow pervert was "not a danger". Aitman meantime spoke of "going online to talk with people with kids" and how he missed being Hannah's "co-pilot". The pair both pled guilty to breaching the SOPO the terms of which included an order not to contact other sex offenders. A judge heard how Hannah claimed the first covid lockdown had left him feeling "isolated" and that was why he wrote the letters to Aitman. They were remanded in custody pending sentencing next month. Hannah had originally been jailed in 2017 for having indecent images of children. He was then hit with the SOPO a year later. Aitman - also known as McNab - was given the same order in 2020. He also had convictions for child porn and other related offences, which had seen him locked up. Hannah latterly ended up in Glasgow's Barlinnie prison with Aitman in Low Moss in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire. Prosecutor Adrian Stalker told how staff at Low Moss became aware in late 2020 that Aitman had letters detailing sexual offences. A total of five addressed to Aitman and signed by Hannah were seized. A further five were then found in Hannah's Barlinnie cell, which had been sent by Aitman. They were written and sent between May 25, 2020 and December 5, 2020. In the first read by Mr Stalker, it included Hannah asking if Aitman was "still up for getting together" when they get out. Aitman replied stating he had spoken to "a couple of women" and that they would apparently have his children. He went on: "Why don't you look into moving into Paisley or somewhere near, so you are not living too far away from me. "We could go online to try and talk to people with kids. I miss being your co-pilot." Hannah went on to state to Aitman: "You need to try and convince the judge you are not a danger." He also mentioned both having been in the press and that the "best thing" would be to "move away" and "change your name". The letters went on to describe and discuss children. This included Hannah writing about getting rid of any "evidence". He said: "I've had discussions with a few guys...and they have no issue with snuffing a kid and disposing of them. How do you feel about that?" Hannah's lawyer Sean Templeton said the pervert was now "thoroughly ashamed" at what was written. The advocate added: "The date in May 2020 was during the first lockdown. "His position is that he felt isolated, alone at that time and essentially reached out (to Aitman). This is his explanation." John Brannigan, defending Aitman, said it was accepted the "terms of the letters are of grave concern". Lord Beckett deferred sentencing for reports until next month.

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A SMIRKING paedo walked free from court after admitting hiding secret cameras in his stepdaughters room to spy on her when she was just 13. David Brown, 57, smirked as he was spared jail for leaving Zara Montgomery, 19, damaged by taking covert videos in her room in Pollokshields, Glasgow. He recorded her through a gap drilled in her wardrobe and the keyhole of a chest. And the creep also videoed her on holiday with a tiny device inside her bedside clock. Brown was tagged for four months and placed on the sex offenders register after pleading guilty to voyeurism at Glasgow Sheriff Court. Sheriff Lindsay Wood told him: These were planned. They led to, you admit, sexual arousal and you taking alcohol to disinhibit yourself. Your behaviour was utterly shameful. Its had a profound impact on your victim and her family. You have a significant sexually deviant problem which needs to be addressed. Zara who has waived her right to anonymity was eight years old when Brown met her lawyer mum Nadine Allam, 47, in 2010. The victim discovered his vile scheme by a reflection from a blanket box when she was 15. The teen was left confused when she played back footage on a Samsung phone which showed him switching it on. And she later found the handset taped to the inside of a wardrobe door after spotting a hole drilled through it. Zara would spend hours locked in the bathroom and would stay late at school to keep away from the weirdo. But she kept the abuse to herself over fears he would turn violent and the discovery would break up her family. Former taxi driver Brown was finally nailed when the teen bravely confided in her mum in January last year, after the couple split in 2019. Cops raided his home and found pictures of the girl including images taken by a camera hidden in an alarm clock at their holiday home in Florida. Zara previously told The Scottish Sun: He did what a dad never should. Brown, of Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, last month admitted tampering with furniture and hiding his phone to record videos between August 2015 and April 2017. BIZARRE CLAIM He also pled guilty to filming Zara in Florida from August to December 2018. Defence lawyer Jacqueline White bizarrely claimed her client was monitoring the girl for her own safety. She said: It has taken him quite some time to recognise what he did. Sheriff Wood spared the pervert a jail stretch because he had no previous convictions but barred him from meeting with anybody under-17 alone. He added: You should realise what you did for your own sexual gratification caused untold harm to a young lady. Brown was placed under supervision and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

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A convicted rapist has avoided deportation back to Afghanistan because the Taliban 'take a dim view' of sex offenders.

Ibrahim Ahmadi was stripped of his refugee status when he was jailed for preying on a sleeping woman in Glasgow. But he has now won the right to remain in the UK after judges decided he might incur the anger of the hardline Taliban regime if he were returned.

The 29-year-old successfully claimed he would be persecuted in his homeland for being a member of the minority Hazaras ethnic group, even though two members of the sect have been appointed to the new Afghan government.

The judges also decided that it was 'reasonably likely that the Taliban would take a dim view of an individual who had committed a violent sexual offence in a Western country'.

Ibrahim Ahmadi (pictured) was stripped of his refugee status when he was jailed for preying on a sleeping woman in Glasgow

The ruling has sparked fury. Russell Findlay, the Shadow Community Safety Minister in Scotland, said: 'This judgment is extremely concerning and suggests the human rights of a rapist are deemed more important than the safety of the public.

'Most people couldn't care less about his sob story on how the Taliban treat sex offenders. They would rather see him removed from our streets and put on the next available flight to Kabul.'

Ahmadi arrived in the UK in 2007 as a 15-year-old, claiming he had been held hostage by the Taliban but had escaped. He was refused asylum but won an appeal and was granted indefinite leave to remain in 2014. That same year, he was arrested for threatening a woman in Lanarkshire and was given addiction counselling.

But just months later, he carried out a vile sex attack on a 25-year-old woman as she slept in her flat.

He was convicted of rape and jailed for seven years. The sentence was later reduced to five years on appeal, although reports by social workers said he continued to pose a high risk to women.

The Home Office ordered Ahmadi's deportation in 2019 but he used taxpayers' money to fund a legal challenge that was given a boost when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last August – just days before the hearing. In their judgment, Upper Tribunal judges Hugo Norton-Taylor and Tom Wilding accepted that Ahmadi 'represents a danger to the community of the United Kingdom [and] there remains a very strong public interest in deportation' but ruled that 'recent events in Afghanistan' meant sending him back would breach his human rights.

Despite efforts by the Taliban to assimilate Afghanistan's six million Hazaras into their regime, for example by including them in the country's new government, the judges concluded that Ahmadi would 'be placed directly into the hands of an extremist Sunni organisation with a history of persecutory treatment of Hazaras and/or Shias'.

Ahmadi received £13,562 in legal aid to fight his rape case and appeal, and has had a further £1,330 to support his deportation challenge with the ruling made in November.

The case has echoes of previous deportation sagas, including that of Iraqi paedophile Howri Hamad Garib, 47, who indecently assaulted three 14-year-old girls in a swimming pool in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, in 2004.

He contested a deportation order issued by the Home Office in 2008 and, following an eight-year legal battle, was allowed to remain in the UK because his crimes were not deemed technically serious enough to warrant expulsion.

In another controversial case, Mr Norton-Taylor was one of two judges who last year granted Kosovan drug-dealer Shaban Binaku leave to remain in the UK.

The 41-year-old had already been deported once but re-entered Britain and set up a car-wash business in London before he was arrested in 2018. The Upper Tribunal ruled it would be unreasonable for the two children he fathered while in the UK illegally to relocate to Kosovo.

The Home Office last night said it may try again to deport Ahmadi if circumstances changed in Afghanistan. 'We always try to remove heinous foreign criminals from this country, but we can be prevented from doing so by the European Convention on Human Rights and Human Rights Act,' it added.

'This individual no longer has refugee protection and we will continue to explore all options to remove him from the UK.' Ahmadi's lawyer was approached for comment.

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Jason Graham, 30, appeared at the High Court in Livingston on Wednesday to be sentenced after admitting seriously sexually assaulting and killing Esther Brown in her own home.

The 67-year-old, who has been described as "a much-loved and active member of the community", suffered horrific injuries in the attack in the Woodlands area of Glasgow earlier this year.

Judge Lord Armstrong said Graham had committed the "gravest of crimes involving the most depraved actions" characterised by "utter brutality".

Addressing Graham in court, he said his actions had caused "significant emotional harm" for Ms Brown's family, adding: "Your victim was a woman who lived a fulfilling and rewarding life, devoted to helping others."

Graham had previously been jailed for seven years for raping an older woman in 2013.

He was being monitored by police as a registered sex offender at the time of the murder after being released from prison on licence in 2018.

Graham was arrested and charged one week after Ms Brown's body was found at her address in West Princes Street on Tuesday June 1.

She had been reported missing for four days after members of the community noticed she had failed to turn up to local events.

At a previous hearing in October, prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the High Court in Glasgow that a post-mortem examination showed Ms Brown was "fighting for her life" during the attack and had injuries "consistent with sexual assault".

He said she had suffered a "sustained beating" with pieces of wood from a broken chair that was damaged during the incident.

Following the attack, the court heard Graham then purchased a packet of cigarettes using Ms Brown's bank card.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, defence lawyer Brian McConnachie QC said Graham had "no recollection" of the attack, having been under the influence of drugs and having consumed a substantial amount of alcohol.

He spoke about Graham's PTSD diagnosis after witnessing his mother's suicide at the age of six, and how this had a lasting impact on his life.

"There is no doubt that this adverse childhood experience is certainly a contributory factor," Mr McConnachie said.

Lord Armstrong said Graham's PTSD "does not stop the offender being aware of his actions", adding: "Excessive alcohol consumption does not detract from the nature of his actions."

He said Graham poses "a very high risk of reoffending".

Taking into account Graham's early plea to rape and murder at a hearing last month, Lord Armstrong reduced his sentencing for the rape charge from 10 years to six years and eight months.

He said this is to run concurrently with the sentence for murder, which totals a minimum of 19 years in prison backdated to June 7 before parole.

Speaking outside the court following the sentencing, Helen Moran, who worked with Ms Brown in the community, and Sharon McKay, who lives in the Woodlands area, said they were "disappointed" with Graham's punishment.

"It's a worry for the community, he (Graham) poses a danger to anybody," Ms Moran said.

"Esther was honestly a wonderful person, we worked together preparing meals for people in need."

Ms McKay added: "The impact of her death has been huge in the community.

"The sentencing is very disappointing as many of us in the surrounding community have been victims of perpetrators being let back into society.

"We need to see change in the justice system."

Procurator fiscal for homicide and major crime David Green said: "This was a shockingly brutal attack on a woman in her own home.

"Jason Graham's conviction follows diligent work by police and specialist prosecutors to identify the accused and bring this case to court.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with Ms Brown's loved ones as they attempt to come to terms with what has happened."

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Glasgow-based Proud Boys activist Keir Wotherspoon, 25, has been convicted of four charges of rape against two women in separate attacks in 2019 and 2020.

A former hospital worker who raped two women was today jailed for five and a half years.

Keir Wotherspoon preyed on his terrified victims who bravely testified against him at a trial last month.

The 24 year-old attacked the first woman three times over two days in June 2019 at a hotel in Glasgow's Kelvingrove.

This included binding her wrists with a belt as well as choking and biting her.

He pounced on the other woman on August 11 2020 in the city's Rottenrow close to the grounds of Strathclyde University.

Wotherspoon was today sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

He had previously been found guilty after a trial in Airdrie of four rape charges including one to the first victim's danger of life.

Lord Burns told him: "Your attitude demonstrates that you are a serious risk to the public at large.

"For those reasons, you require an extended sentence.

"You will be monitored in the hope that it minimises the risk that you pose and that you come to terms with attitudes that are wholly inappropriate.

"You continue to deny this offending and have no insight into your controlling and harmful behaviour."

Wotherspoon - who worked at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital - will be supervised for a further three years on his release.

He was put on the sex offenders list indefinitely.

Brian McConnachie, defending, said Wotherspoon continues to have the support of his partner and family.

The QC added: "He has found it extremely difficult to get his head round that he was convicted of these charges."

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A former police sergeant has been described as having a high risk of "causing serious harm to children" after he was caught in an undercover sting. Paul Bucknall chatted sexually online to two undercover police officers posing as parents. Bucknall's messages included asking one of the officers if she would like to "share" a 10-year-old girl. The 52-year-old pled guilty to two charges under the Communications Act. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard the offences took place between September and December 2019 at a police station in the city and Bucknall's then home in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire. 'Psychologically detached condition' He was ordered to do 225 hours of unpaid work and put under supervision, as well as being placed on the sex offenders register for two years. The first offender has also been restricted access to children under the age of 16. The charge states that Bucknall's messages were "grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character". Sheriff Allan McKay said: "I don't need to tell you these offences are serious. They are repeated and committed over a period of time. The location in which they were committed is also a concern to me. "Your background report indicates that you lacked insight into the effect of the offending and that you have adopted a psychologically detached condition. "The report says this condition presents as a high risk of causing serious harm to children and you have to address that." Bucknall will continue to be allowed access to computer equipment which must be available to access upon request. The hearing was earlier told he had joined the Chat Avenue website with the username "Purdeman50UK". Undercover officer He began communicating with an undercover officer named "Gemma" who stated she was the mother of a 10-year-old girl. Prosecutor Jennifer Sillars said: "Bucknall believed he was contacting the mother of the 10-year-old girl. "He expressed highly graphical sexual comments including he had no age limits and asking Gemma if she would like to share her in reference to the 10-year-old girl." Bucknall referred to himself as Paul and passed his own mobile number to the officer. The offences led to his home being raided after a warrant was granted. He was arrested and gave a "no comment" interview. Pamela Rodgers, defending, told the court Bucknall had lost his wife, two children and his granddaughter and had to resign from Police Scotland. Det Ch Insp Richard Banks, of the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: "We acknowledge the sentence of Paul Bucknall following his abhorrent offending. "He believed the internet would provide anonymity and allow him to undertake his offending undetected. This was not the case."

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A PORT paedophile who inflicted horrific sexual abuse on a 12-year-old girl has been hammered with the maximum prison sentence open to a sheriff despite social workers wanting him kept in the community. Edward Tily, 61, has been locked up for five years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely by lawman Andrew McIntyre, who branded his repeated crimes against the vulnerable victim as 'abhorrent'.

Description

A PORT Glasgow man is facing charges of having indecent images of children and supplying class A drugs. Daniel McLaughlin, 24, is also accused of possession of bestiality pornography at his former home on Mary Street. Prosecutors say McLaughlin who now lives elsewhere in the town was concerned in the supply of MDMA (ecstasy). He is further accused of possession of cocaine, cannabis and the street valium drug etizolam. It is alleged that on various occasions between January and June last year McLaughlin took or permitted to be taken, or made, indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children. A further charge claims that he had extreme pornographic images depicting in a realistic way bestiality. McLaughlin has pleaded not guilty to all of the indictment charges against him through lawyer Aidan Gallagher at a preliminary calling of the case at Greenock Sheriff Court. The matters are due to call again in November.