Search results for Ayr

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Victims of a vile double rapist who terrorised schoolgirls have spoken out after he was finally brought to justice.

Oliver Barrie was just 14 when he began subjecting girlfriends to horrific sexual and physical abuse more than seven years ago.

Now 22, he has been convicted of raping two of his exes, who were just 13 and 15 at the time, and punching them both on the body when they feared they might be pregnant.

Both victims told how evil Barrie, from Ayr, destroyed their lives and left them suffering long-term trauma.

They spoke out in the hope they can help other victims of abuse to find the courage to come forward.

One of the women, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: He took away my childhood. Im not the person I used to be and I still struggle every day because of what hes done to me.

Barrie was convicted after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow last week and is now in custody awaiting sentence.

A jury convicted him of raping his first victim, a 13-year-old girl, between October 2013 and April 2014, when he was aged between 14 and 15.

He was also convicted of assaulting the schoolgirl at an Ayr property and in a car park on various occasions between April 2013 and July 2015, repeatedly punching her on the body when he believed she might be expecting a baby.

Now 21, she said: I met him when I was in first year and he was in third year.

Hes got a way with words and can talk his way into getting what he wants. He knows exactly what to say to make you feel guilty.

He became quite abusive very early on, saying, If you just hurry up and do it Ill stop nagging you. One minute he made you feel like such a special person then he would just turn.

He did all of this horrendous stuff to me when I was just a child.

The victim buried the abuse she suffered and began to struggle with her mental health because of it.

She said: I ended up going to therapy and that really helped me realise he was really dangerous. The victim only opened up about her experience after police arrived at her door following a report from Barries second victim.

She said: I decided I needed to speak out because hes a danger to every young woman. He really terrifies me.

Barries second victim was 15 when she was assaulted by him between June and December 2014, also fearing she was pregnant and being punched by him.

She was raped by him when she was 16 in June 2015.

Now 22, she said: He was very manipulative and cheated on me with 26 different people I know of. He secluded me from everyone and controlled every aspect of my life.

He would force me to stay on FaceTime all the time and abuse me saying, Do this and Ill stop asking. He would make me fall asleep on FaceTime so he knew I wasnt talking to anyone else.

It was a constant cycle and there was no relief. I felt trapped and didnt know what to do.

The victim said she confided in Barrie when she feared she was pregnant and was punched with full force in the stomach, leaving her on the floor in tears.

She didnt tell her parents what she had suffered for several years and only reported the abuse to police in 2018, with the support of Rape Crisis.

She said: I wanted to save other girls from going through what weve experienced.

Ive been diagnosed with PTSD, severe depression and Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, all as a result of what hes done.

Barrie will face sentence next month.

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Gary Di Folco, 33, jailed for nine years after raping and abusing two women

Former chef Gary Di Folco has been sentenced to nine years in prison for a campaign of physical and sexual abuse against two women between June 2013 and April 2019.

In one attack, Di Folco dragged a victim by the hair in the middle of the night to a secluded spot near Mill Glen Reservoir in Ardrossan. She fled the car but he chased her, pushed her over the bonnet and raped her as she begged him to stop. The court heard he “used rape as a punishment” against her. He denied the offence and claimed they had been playing “naked tig.”

Prosecutor Greg Farrell told jurors: “He dragged her by the hair and drove her in the dead of night to a secluded area. She got out the car and ran. She knew what was in store. Di Folco chased her, pushed her over the bonnet of the car and raped her as she begged him not to.”

The same victim was raped at other times, including on a beach in Ardrossan, and was repeatedly slapped and choked. She was described as left “chalk white” in fear; neighbours often heard the assaults. She called him a “controlling man” with an “explosive temper.”

A second victim was raped and abused at a house in Saltcoats. Di Folco tracked her location with phone apps and accused her of cheating on him.

At the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Tom Hughes said: “What is clear is the sequence of the charges are very serious indeed involving two women. I have read the victim impact statements provided to the court and the consequences your conduct has had on them.”

Di Folco will be supervised for a further three years after release. A 10-year non-harassment order bans him from contacting either woman. His lawyer, Lorenzo Alonzi, told the court he continues to deny the offences.

Description

A CHEF who raped an ex-partner then later battered another lover has been jailed for five and a half years, writes Grant McCabe .

Cameron Currie (23) carried out the sex attack on the girl in April 2012 when she was 15.

Jurors heard how the victim was left numb following the crime at a house in Prestwick, Ayrshire.

Currie went on to physically abuse a woman he was dating in 2016.

She described feeling worthless after suffering at his hands.

Currie today returned to the High Court in Glasgow having been convicted of rape and assault.

His QC John Scullion said Currie, also of Prestwick, continues to protest his innocence.

But, Lady Rae told Currie: It seems to me that you do not seem to recognise that you have done anything wrong. I hope you can change your attitude.

The court heard how he and the rape victim had split up after dating in 2011.

They later met before chatting and listening to music. Currie kissed the girl, but she attempted to get him away.

In his speech to jurors, prosecutor Paul Kearney said: You remember the emotion as she told you what happened next.

She was trying to push him away, saying 'no' and 'stop'. She thought this was four to six times she said this, but he took no notice.

At one point, he said: 'I cannot stop now I have started'.

The victim told the court how she froze and felt numb during the attack.

The girl eventually got away, but returned to the room where Currie still was.

She recalled: I was physically shaking and having pain in my ribs from him leaning on me.

The sex attacker asked why she was upset.

The traumatised girl was whimpering and struggling to talk when she later tried speaking to a friend.

Mr Kearney: In the days that followed, she did not really want to talk to anyone, did not want to eat and wanted to be in bed all the time.

She also suffered a panic attack when she saw Currie again.

The victim eventually confided in her mum, who was increasingly concerned about her daughter.

It was years later she then told police, who were investigating allegations made against Currie.

Currie preyed on the second victim in 2016.

Prosecutor Mr Kearney:

She stayed with him despite arguing a lot and him saying vile and unpleasant things, which made her feel worthless.

The court heard Currie once attacked her after she made him food.

The woman felt the incident lasted for hours as she struggled to breathe.

She recalled: He would tell me it was my fault, something I had done.

Often he would cry and say that he would not do it again.

Currie was also placed on the sex offenders list.

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A FORMER teacher has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of child abuse.

Peter Toner, 61, was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow of sexually abusing five children between 1979 and 1983 when he was a house master at the former St Columba’s College in Largs, Ayrshire.

Officers from Ayrshire’s Divisional Rape Investigation Unit have been conducting enquiries after receiving a complaint in October 2016.

As a result of ongoing enquiries, officers identified other victims.

Detective constable Colin Jones said: “Peter Toner took advantage of his position of authority and committed these despicable crimes.

“It takes considerable courage for people to come forward and speak to the police about such crimes and I would like to pay tribute to the victims for their bravery.

“This sentence may give them some sense of justice, but it won’t undo the harm they have experienced which has been profound and long lasting.

“I would encourage anyone who has been a victim of any sexual predator to come forward as it is never too late to report sexual abuse to us, no matter when it happened and no matter what the circumstances, they can be assured that they will receive every support from Police Scotland.”

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An Ardrossan man is facing jail for grooming what he thought was a 12-year-old girl after being stung by an online group targeting paedophiles. Garry Allmark, 46, was brought to justice with the help of a group known as the Scotland Anti Predator Alliance (SAPA). Operatives from the group snared Allmark online while he was living at a flat in Glasgow Street with his wife and eight-year-old son. They then arranged to meet him and confronted him over the vile messages he had sent to one of their decoys during a meeting at Harvie's. As well as sending a picture of a male penis, Allmark sent what he thought was a youngster pictures of women performing sex acts on themselves. He sent the 'child' so many messages SAPA operatives gave police 410 pages of print outs showing his texts. The details emerged this week when Allmark, who now lives in Burns Street, Irvine, appeared in the dock at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court for a pre-trial hearing. He struck a deal with prosecutors which saw him pleading guilty to one charge in exchange for another being dropped. He admitted a charge under Section 23 and 24(1) of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 by attempting to have sexual communication with a young child, and sending sexual pictures and videos to what he thought was an underage girl. The charge that was dropped stated he had tried to meet what he thought was an underage girl with the intention of having a sexual encounter with her. Procurator Fiscal Depute Jo Cunningham explained: "Between March 30, 2018, and May 5, 2018, the accused had been in communication with a person whom he assumed was a child under the age of 13. "The communication he had was, in fact, with the Scottish Anti Predator Alliance. "Following their contact with the accused, the Alliance contacted police and they provided them with hard copies of messages which had been exchanged between the accused and the 'child'. "Police, on receipt of the evidence, arrested the accused." Allmark was taken to Saltcoats Police Office where he was interviewed, confirming to police officers that "he had been in conversation with a female whom he believed to be 12 years of age." Miss Cunningham explained: "The majority were not all of a sexual nature however, when taken together, appear to be an attempt by the accused to groom the 12-year-old, and there were items of a sexual nature within them. "In addition to sending personal images to the 'child', he also sent her a photo of a male penis and images of a nude female masturbating. "When he engaged with the child it appears he also sent a number of images of himself to her." Allmark, who was assisted in court by a sign language interpreter, nodded during his police interview to confirm he'd had sexual conversations with the 'child' and that he knew it was illegal, but insisted he was "not a paedophile." Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane placed Allmark on the Sex Offenders' Register, called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case until next month for that to be done.

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A CROSSHOUSE hospital worker has been jailed after being caught with a haul of child sex abuse and bestiality images. Former Three Towns resident Christopher Anderson had access to thousands of patients personal details and medical records through his job in the records department at the hospital, and was found with more than 5,000 images of children as young as two-years-old being abused. He appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week and was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. The 29-year-old was also caught with images of adults engaged in sex acts with dogs after police raided his home in Irvine. Twisted Anderson also kept thousands of images on his phone and even carried two USB drives with him crammed full of abuse files. He was arrested at his work and taken to the police station to be questioned, where officers discovered the files were just the tip of the iceberg due to his mobile phone and his memory sticks. The details emerged when Anderson appeared in the dock at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last month to plead guilty over his sordid stash. He pleaded guilty to three charges - making child abuse images, possessing the illicit files, and being in possession of extreme pornographic material by having bestiality files, between March 2012 and September last year. He admitted his guilt after the date he began making and possessing the files was changed from March 2004 when he was 14. Procurator Fiscal Depute Peter Moyes said officers found a total of 4,957 still images and 195 films across the four devices, many of which were at the most extreme level. Sheriff Watson told Anderson: The number and categorisation of the images is very serious, some related to children as young as two. In my view theres no alternative but to send you to prison. He also made him the subject of a five-year-long Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). It requires him to inform Police Scotlands National Offender Management Unit about all his internet-abled devices, give them his usernames and passwords and bans him from deleting or altering his internet history. He is banned from having any contact with anyone under 17 and has to tell police if he has a relationship or makes friends with someone who has a child aged 17 or under. PatriciaLeiser, Human Resources Director for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said: On being alerted to this issue, we can confirm we took immediate action and this individual no longer works for NHS Ayrshire & Arran.

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Logan was convicted of sexual offences in 2016 – when he was 17 – and was given a supervision order.

In June, at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, 20-year-old Logan had admitted to downloading images of the sexual abuse of young children between March 2014 and December 2017.

He had previously been convicted in 2016 of eight cases of sexual assault, one of those on a child who was six at the time. His existing supervision order was extended by three years and he was freed, and rehoused in Sim Street, Stewarton, which sparked the protests.

Logan pleaded guilty to downloading the extensive child pornography

“But he walked out to his family and was immediately given a mobile phone and rehoused by East Ayrshire Council.”

Neither the police nor any of the agencies involved is required to tell neighbours that the new tenant is a convicted sex offender. 

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A man who raped a student hours after attacking another woman has been jailed for eight years and eight months.

Thomas Robertson raped the 21-year-old as she walked home from a friend's flat in Stirling in February.

The victim feared she was going to die as Robertson held a lump of concrete over her head during the attack.

Robertson, who has previous convictions for robbery, pled guilty to charges of rape and assault with intent to rape.

Robertson, 27, was told by judge Lord Boyd he posed a danger to the public and was ordered to be monitored in the community for five years after his release.

Escaped and hid

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the 21-year-old was attacked at about 02:30 on 3 February.

She was at an underpass near the Customs Roundabout in Stirling when Robertson struck.

Prosecutor Gillian Ross said: "She thought she was not going to escape with her life."

The court heard that hours earlier, Robertson, of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, attacked a 22-year-old woman.

She had also been heading to her home in Stirling around 23:00 on 2 February when Robertson grabbed her in Bridgehaugh Road.

Robertson repeatedly punched the woman, then pulled her towards bushes, covered her mouth and brandished a length of wood at her.

The woman escaped and hid until she managed to call the police.

Defence QC Brian McConnachie said: "He has a significant record, but not for anything sexual up until now. He realises his offending has spiralled out of control."

Lord Boyd told Robertson: "In the course of a few hours you subjected your victims to significant sexual attacks with significant violence and threats."