Latest Offenders Edinburgh

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An Edinburgh man has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register after he was caught with thousands of horrific child abuse images.

Thomas Carroll, 58, downloaded more than 2800 still pictures of children being sexually abused by adults including images of rape over a near four year period. He was also found to have accessed 634 videos of abuse with more than half being rated as Category A - the most vile end of the spectrum.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told on Tuesday that Police Scotland received intelligence in November last year that the images were being accessed at Carroll’s home at the Wester Hailes area of the capital. Officers attended at the property with a search warrant at around 8.15am on December 20 last year and found the offender home alone.

Fiscal depute Jennifer McLaren told the court two mobile phones, two USB devices and a laptop were seized from the home. A subsequent cyber crime investigation showed three of the devices held thousands of indecent images of children. The fiscal said a total of 2,823 images and 634 videos of children being sexually abused had been stored on the devices.

Solicitor Kevin Connor, defending, said there were “clearly a lot of images” discovered and he acknowledged his client was facing “a very serious matter”.

Sheriff Ian Anderson placed Carroll on the Sex Offenders Register for a term still to be determined and deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports to next month.

Carroll, who is a first offender, was granted bail and wore a face mask in an attempt to hide his identity when he left the city centre court building this afternoon. He had pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children at his home between January 9, 2019 and December 20 last year.

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A man who raped three women, including one who was just 14 when the attacks began, has been jailed for 10 years.

Bradley Isherwood, 25, abused one his victims while another man encouraged him.

The woman, who is now aged 24, told the High Court in Edinburgh she was serially raped and assaulted between 2016 and 2021.

All of Isherwood's attacks took place at locations in Edinburgh and Musselburgh, East Lothian.

The 24-year-old woman told the court that during one attack, another man played the Kings of Leon song Sex On Fire on his phone while Isherwood abused her.

She said: "I said no. I am tired. It became clear that he wasn't going to take no for an answer so I just kind of lay there and took it."

The victim said Isherwood's friend was "clapping his hands and saying 'come on Bradley, come on Bradley'."

"He was playing Your Sex is on Fire. He had an iPhone," she said.

'He felt entitled'

The woman also spoke about a time when Isherwood pinned her to the bed by the throat.

She said: "There was quite a lot of pressure. I couldn't speak. I genuinely thought he was going to choke me.

"I tried but I couldn't get his hand free from my throat.

"When I was on the bed and he had me by the throat and I couldn't speak back, he said he was going to kill me."

The woman said that Isherwood felt "entitled" about having sex.

Judge Lord Tyre sentenced Isherwood, who had pleaded not guilty to the attacks, to 10 years in prison and ordered that he be supervised by the authorities for three years after his release.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for life.

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A man has been jailed for four years and three months after being convicted of a sexual offence in Edinburgh.

Antonio Pollio, 24, pleaded guilty to the offence involving a young female at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday, 21 August, 2023.

He was sentenced at the same court on Thursday, 28 September.

Detective Inspector Mhairi Cooper said: Antonio Pollio is a dangerous man who manipulated and coerced a young female. He will now face the consequences of his actions.

"We treat all reports of sexual crime seriously and I would urge anyone who has been a victim to come forward, no matter how much time has passed, and report it to police.

"Be assured, we will fully investigate and you will be supported by police and our partner agencies.

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A pervert driving instructor has been convicted of sexually assaulting more teenagers during lessons after a fresh investigation.

Findlay Munro preyed on young women learning to drive in Edinburgh, touching them and making inappropriate comments.

Munro dodged a jail sentence last year after admitting targeting four victims while giving them lessons.

The 63-year-old appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday to plead guilty to offences against a further four pupils.

Two of the victims were just 17 when creepy Munro took advantage of being alone in a car with them.

The court heard how he sexually assaulted the teens by touching their legs.

Munro also made inappropriate comments to another two women while teaching them to drive.

Sheriff John Cook deferred sentence until next month for reports.

Munro appeared in court last September for sentencing after admitting the four earlier charges.

He was given two years supervision with a conduct requirement to undertake “offence-focused work”.

He was also put on the sex offenders register for two years.

But the court heard on Wednesday how further offences dating back to 2014 had been uncovered.

Munro admitted touching a 17-year-old’s leg without consent during lessons between August 2014 and April 2015.

He also pled guilty to sexually assaulting another 17-year-old by repeatedly touching her leg without consent during lessons between September 2015 and March 2016.

Munro admitted making inappropriate remarks and comments about a third pupil’s appearance for the purposes of gaining sexual gratification between September 2015 and April 2016.

And he admitted the same charge against a fourth woman between December 2019 and March 2020.

Last year the court heard how Munro, of the city’s Baberton area, repeatedly targeted four victims before a police investigation landed him in court.

Those offences took place between 2017 and 2021.

A mother previously told the Record how her 17-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted by “scumbag” Munro. She paid for her daughter to receive weekly two-hour lessons from him when he was an instructor through Red Driving School.

She said: “She came back after the first lesson and told me Munro called all his pupils his ‘girlfriends’. I thought it was bizarre, but my daughter said it was fine, she just wanted to pass her test.

“Looking back, she would get really, really anxious before every lesson but I put it down to nerves.

“Then another girl said police were speaking to Munro’s pupils and my daughter said some things had happened to her.

“I got her to write it down, because it was difficult for her. It was awful to read. I was so angry and contacted the police myself to report it.”

Munro pled guilty to sexually assaulting the teen on various occasions on Edinburgh roads between December 2020 and August last year by touching her on the head and rubbing her thigh.

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A Big Issue seller who was caught spying on a young woman as she used the toilet at a prestigious department store has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Benjamin-Cornel Teglas hid inside a cubicle at the women’s toilets and peered under the partition after the 22-year-old victim had entered the stall next to him at the John Lewis store in Edinburgh.

The shocked woman was said to have been “frozen and alarmed” and after shouting at the pervert she ran from the toilet area and informed staff.

The 20-year-old offender was later picked up by police officers who had viewed CCTV in a bid to identify the culprit following the incident on May 27 this year.

Teglas pleaded guilty to observing the woman doing a private act when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court with the aid of a Romanian interpreter last month and he returned to the dock for sentencing on Thursday.

Defending lawyer Mary Moultrie said her client was a first offender and he “fully accepts responsibility for his actions”.

Ms Moultrie said Teglas was working full time selling the Big Issue and though he has a non-analogous outstanding matter in Romania he is planning on returning to Scotland to live.

Sheriff Peter McCormack said: “You pleaded guilty a a trial diet to a serious sexual offence whereby you entered the ladies toilets at John Lewis in Edinburgh on May 27.

“CCTV showed you were loitering for around 18 minutes and in the course of that period you looked under a partition greatly to the alarm of a young woman there. The offence meets the custody threshold but I note your age and you have no previous convictions.”

Sheriff McCormack sentenced Teglas to an alternative to a custody and ordered him to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Teglas, of the capital’s Wester Hailes, was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

Previously fiscal depute India McLean told the court the victim and her sister were shopping in the John Lewis store when they decided to go to the toilet area at around 2.20pm on May 27 this year.

Ms McLean said Teglas had earlier been spotted loitering around the area and was seen to be “checking around to see if anyone was there” before entering the female toilet.

The court heard the victim then “unknowingly” took the cubicle next to the one Teglas was in and locked the door behind her.

The fiscal depute said: “She then looked down and seen Mr Teglas with his head under her cubicle.

“She was initially frozen and alarmed and has then shouted ‘what do you think you are doing?’

“Mr Teglas held her eye contact and stared at her for a few seconds before removing his head back into his own cubicle.”

The woman fled the toilet area and Teglas was said to have “eventually peered out from his own cubicle and has then made off from the toilet”.

Teglas pleaded guilty to observing a woman doing a private act by occupying a cubicle of a woman’s toilet area and placing his head through the gap under the cubicle and look into the cubicle occupied by her at John Lewis, St James Quarter, Edinburgh, on May 27 this year.

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A despicable rapist who attacked a woman while she waited for a bus in Edinburgh has been jailed.

Christopher Pringle has been sentenced to seven years in prison for raping the woman in August 2020. The 43-year-old, who was convicted at the High Court in May, was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely when he returned for sentencing on Friday, July 7.

Detective Chief Inspector George Calder said: Pringles behaviour was despicable, and he will now face the consequences of his actions. It is my sincere hope the courage shown in this case will reassure all victims of sexual violence that they can come forward, no matter how much time has passed, and report it to police. Be assured, we will fully investigate, and you will be supported by officers and our partner agencies.

This case was brought to a conclusion by the divisional rape investigation unit, a specialist unit dedicated to robustly and sensitively investigate cases of this nature, bringing perpetrators to justice and supporting victims and their families."

STV News reports the woman was waiting for a bus when she was attacked by Pringle in Crown Street, off Leith Walk, on August 20, 2020.

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A 40-YEAR-OLD man has been remanded in custody at Jedburgh Sheriff Court after he admitted attempting to communicate indecently with a 12-year-old girl.

Ashley Bell approached his intended victim on the Instagram messaging service, before switching the conversation to Snapchat – where messages delete themselves once they have been read.

Despite being told she was getting ready for school and looking forward to her 13th birthday, the court heard Bell instigated conversations about sex toys, breasts and “spent quite a bit of time” boasting about the size of his manhood.

It later emerged the person Bell had been communicating with was in fact an undercover police officer and their chat had been recorded.

Bell admitted intentionally, and for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification, or of humiliating, distressing or alarming a person he believed was a child under the age of 13, sending messages of a sexual nature to her over social media.

Bell, described as a prisoner in Edinburgh, committed the offence at an address in Lovel Court, Hawick, and elsewhere, between March 6 and 15.

Sentence was deferred on Bell until July 31 for background reports, including guidance on post-release supervision

Sheriff Douglas Keir warned him he is likely to receive a custodial sentence, in addition to being the subject of the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act.

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A man responsible for the non-recent sexual abuse of young people in Edinburgh has been jailed.

At the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday, 7 June, 2023, James Grover was sentenced to four years in prison for assaults on three people during the 1990s and 2000s.

The 41-year-old became subject of a Police Scotland public protection investigation in 2019 after the victims, who were aged between 12 and 15 years old at the time of the offences reported their abuse.

Grover was arrested and charged on 6 February 2020 before being found guilty of lewd and libidinous practices, indecent assault and assault on 2 May, 2023.

Detective Inspector Jonny Wright, who led the investigation, said: "Over a number of years, James Grover targeted his victims and subjected them to serious abuse that was both physical and sexual.

"These individuals showed incredible courage to come forward and make us aware of Grover's offending, allowing us to conduct a thorough investigation, which ultimately led to his conviction and prison sentence.

"I want to thank them for their bravery and support of our inquiries. I hope today's outcome brings them closure and peace of mind.

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He appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing last Wednesday, April 5, after previously pleading guilty to charges. Police had raided him home after a tip off.

An Edinburgh man who downloaded vile child abuse images depicting the rape of infants has been caged for three years and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Christopher Donaldson was caught with a horrific haul of images and films including images of children under the age of 12 months being sexually abused by adult men.

Donaldson, 34, also distributed some of the harrowing movies involving male and female children to fellow perverts he was in contact with online.

He appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing last Wednesday, April 5, after previously pleading guilty to charges of possessing and distributing the material over a four week period in 2021.

Sheriff Alison Stirling jailed Donaldson for three years and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

Fiscal depute Ross Price told the court police officers raided Donaldson’s home in the Stenhouse area of the capital following an anonymous tip off in October 2021.

The court was told the offender was at home with his partner when police arrived and that he had admitted he had downloaded the images.

Officers seized two mobile phones from the property and following a forensic examination the movies were found hidden on the devices.

Mr Price said the images showed male and female children aged between “under one-years-old and 15-years-old” being sexually abused by adult men.

The fiscal said Donaldson had been sent a total of 149 files through the Telegram messaging service and that he had then sent on 90 of the images to other perverts online.

Donaldson admitted to possessing and distributing indecent images of children between September 10 and October 5 2021.

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Raymond Nyiam, 31, from Edinburgh, who appeared at the High Court in Glasgow via a videolink, was convicted of raping the women while they were drunk and asleep or unconscious and incapable of giving consent.

He met both his victims at a nightclub and pounced later at houses in Edinburgh. One victim was eight years younger than Nyiam and the other 10.

The offences were committed on March 5, 2017 and on November 28 at addresses in Edinburgh while both victims were asleep after enjoying a night out in the city. In both cases, the women were attacked while they were vulnerable and Nyiam took advantage of his physical strength.

Judge Laura Drummond QC told Nyiam: You knew these women for less than 24 hours after meeting them in a nightclub and going home with them.

They have been significantly affected by your actions. Their lives have been affected in almost every aspect.

You have a propensity to be a danger to the public, but the assessment is that you are able to change.

Nyiam will be on licence and monitored in the community for three years after his release from prison.

He was also placed on the Sex Offenders' Register.

Solicitor advocate Euan Roy said his client had had a hedonistic lifestyle and an anti-social personality disorder and added He has expressed a willingness to engage in appropriate rehabilitative interventions.

Following the case, Detective Inspector Jonny Wright of Police Scotlands Public Protection Unit for the capital, said: Raymond Nyiam preyed on the two women following nights out in Edinburgh City Centre.

Both victims have shown tremendous bravery by coming forward to the police and ensuring that Nyiam has been held accountable for his actions.

Nyiam clearly thought he could get away with this despicable behaviour, however he was very wrong, and I hope this sends a clear message that nobody is above the law.

I would urge anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual crime to contact Police Scotland through 101.

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A serial sex offender has been jailed after preying on women in Fife during a decade-long reign of terror.

John Weir, who also goes by the name John Krogan, was previously convicted of a number of sexual offences, including rape.

The 29-year-old carried out the horrendous crimes spanning a decade on a number of women in Fife between 2010 and 2020 - the first assault taking place when he was just a teenager.

Yesterday, the beast was jailed for eight years at the High Court in Aberdeen.

Detective Sergeant Lauren O’Neil said: “Weir carried out these crimes over a number of years and he will now face the consequence of his despicable actions in prison.

“I hope this sentencing gives the victims who came forward some comfort and allows them to move forward.

“We take reports of such offences seriously, regardless of how much time has passed and work to support victims. I would encourage anyone who has been impacted by this type of crime to report it.”

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An Edinburgh man appeared in court after sending explicit videos to '13-year-old Josh' on social media site dedicated to street hockey and tried to arrange a meeting.

A predator used a street hockey Facebook group to groom a ‘schoolboy’ who turned out to be anundercover cop.

Spirit Traum was the administrator of a social media group dedicated to the sport and was contacted by ‘13-year-old Josh’ who wished to join.

Traum, 22, started sending explicit photos and videos of himself to ‘Josh’ along with obscene messages.

But the youngster was actually a police officer tasked with catching perverts online by using fake accounts, as the Daily Record reports.

Police swooped on Traum hours after he tried to arrange to meet ‘Josh’ near his Edinburgh address.

Traum appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Tuesday and pled guilty to attempting to communicate indecently with an older child.

He also admitted attempting to meet someone he believed was an older child with the intention of engaging in unlawful sexual activity.

Fiscal depute Alan Wickham said the officer posing as Josh sent a request to join a Facebook group on street hockey where Traum was one of the administrators.

Mr Wickham said: “Josh was pretending to be interested in learning the game.”

Traum began sending explicit images to Josh over the course of seven days, the court heard, and stated he was the person in the photos, including one where he was naked and tied up.

Mr Wickham said Josh told the accused he was 13 and “regularly reminded” him of his age during their conversations.

Trauma asked the ‘teenager’ if he was “smooth or hairy”, later adding: “I like boys smooth.”

Mr Wickham said Traum continued to send explicit images and videos and asked for nudes of Josh to be sent in return.

The prosecutor said: “It was suggested by the accused that they meet. The accused stated he wanted to meet Josh to play hockey but went on to state, ‘You might get f****ed after’.”

Police detained Traum at his home in the city’s Fountainbridge area on September 28 2021, and he was taken to Dalkeith police station.

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Da Vinci rapist Robert Greens was attacked in his ex-wife’s home by a family member who discovered him hiding in a cupboard.

The 44-year-old sex offender is said to have grown close to former wife Angela Gibson since his release from prison last year. But enraged relatives were fuming when they found him in her Penicuik home on Friday night and a fight broke out.

It’s the second time in a week Greens has been assaulted after he was punched by a member of the public at Hogmanay after a night of drinking in the Midlothian town

A family source said: “This family member was furious when they found out Greens was in Angie’s house. Greens and Angie have been seen around town together and her family are not happy. She’s been away from him since he was convicted and nobody can believe she is putting herself at risk being with him again.”

In the earlier incident, it's understood Greens was assaulted outside a pub as he was making his way home after celebrating the New Year Prior to the attack he was in a local sports bar and angered other customers when he refused to leave. Greens was said to have been with Angela.

Sources said Greens was being “loud and cheeky” in the Crescent sports bar before being asked to leave the premises. When he refused he became involved in an altercation with another man before angrily leaving and claiming he would return with relatives. He was then punched in the town’s John Street.

The source said: “He was hit outside the pub. Folk couldn’t believe the brass neck of him being in the club acting like any normal person instead of a notorious sex offender who’s just done 17 years in prison. We don’t know what the hell he’s playing at. He should be keeping a low profile, not sitting celebrating New Year in a club and annoying other customers. He needs to get out of Penicuik. People are still angry at what he did and nobody has forgotten or forgiven.”

Greens sparked angry protests in October when residents in Danderhall, Midlothian, discovered he was living among them. It’s understood he is no longer living in the flat in Neatoune Court. The beast was dubbed the Da Vinci rapist for his horrific attack in 2005 on a student near Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian, a key ­location in the book The Da Vinci Code. The 19-year-old suffered horrific injuries, which were initially thought to have come from a car smash.

Greens was freed from prison in 2012, having served two-thirds of his sentence. The following year, he was returned to jail after he broke one of the conditions of his release by visiting the home town of his former wife. He was again released in 2017 but hauled back to prison after another breach.

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A serial sex offender who was caught with a shocking haul of child abuse images for the second time has been jailed for 16 months.

Nathan Whitelaw, also known as Salkeld, was found to have downloaded hundreds of indecent images of children when police officers checked his mobile phone earlier this year.

Whitelaw, 24, was convicted of a similar offence last year and police were conducting an unannounced search of his Edinburgh flat when he was caught for the second time.

The pervert told the officers he had bought the device as he wanted to “test himself” due to his sexual interest in young children. Whitelaw was also convicted of sexual communication and attempting to meet up with a 13 year old child he had contacted online in 2018.

But he was caught in a paedophile hunter sting when it emerged he had in fact been in contact with an adult decoy connected to the Groom Resisters Scotland group. Whitelaw was handed community payback orders on both previous occasions and placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

He was back in the dock for sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday after previously admitting possessing indecent images of children between February 22 and May 10 this year

Sheriff Daniel Kelly said: “You are already on two community payback orders. The orders imposed have not prevented you from reoffending.

“In terms of the social work report you are at a high risk of [sexual] reconviction. That means on this occasion there is no other sentence appropriate other than custody.” Whitelaw was jailed for 16 months and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.

He was also handed a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order which bans him from accessing any social media site without gaining prior permission.

Previously the court was told Whitelaw had been housed by Edinburgh City Council at a property in the Leith area of the capital following last year’s conviction. Police officers attended the home as part of an unannounced search and uncovered the phone which he was banned from owning on May 10 this year.

Whitelaw was said to have appeared “nervous and agitated” to the officers and he was cautioned and charged at the time. The court heard the offender’s mobile phone was found to contain 801 images and videos rated at Category A - the most depraved end of the scale.

He also possessed 172 images and videos at Category B along with a further 1445 said to be at Category C. The court heard Whitelaw had bought the phone three months previously “in a bid to test himself” against reoffending.

Solicitor Steven Donald, defending, said his client had a keen interest in computing which had led him “to go down the rabbit hole” of searching out child abuse images.

Mr Donald said Whitelaw had been making progress while on his previous community-based order “to such an extent he wanted to test himself”.

The images were said to have been part of a “data dump” sent to Whitelaw by another person and all the images had been inaccessible. Mr Donald added: “There is an acceptance on his part he has an attraction [to children].”

Whitelaw pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children at a property at Persevere Court, Edinburgh, between February 22 and May 10 this year.

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A man who trussed a woman to a bed moments before subjecting her to a violent rape ordeal has been jailed for 15 years.

Kevin Hood, 34, attacked the female, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at an address in Edinburgh in August 2021. The high court in the city heard last month how Hood subjected the woman to a terrifying ordeal during the attack.

He demanded her mobile telephone password to see who she had been speaking to. The court heard that Hood then prevented her from leaving a bedroom and fastened her ankles and wrists to a bed, detaining her there against her will.

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Hood then started to choke the woman before raping her. But Hoods victim plucked up enough courage to speak to the police who launched an investigation into his activities.

Detectives then found enough evidence against Hood to bring him to justice. On Wednesday, the court heard how Hood had told a social worker tasked with finding out more about his background that he used sex workers.

He also told the social worker that he liked to indulge in sex which included restraints and strangulations. Judge Lord Arthurson told Hood that as he had been assessed at being at high risk of re-offending, the only sentence available to the court was prison.

Lord Arthurson also told Hood that the risk he posed to women in general was such that hed have been supervised by the authorities for 10 years following his release from custody. Passing sentence, Lord Arthurson said: This crime is one of the worst that Ive had to deal with in my judicial career.

This was a sustained assault using sickening acts of violence undertaken with the purpose of controlling your victim. Given the circumstances of the offence, the only disposal that can be in the circumstances is the imposition of a extremely long custodial one.

The sentence being imposed is to punish you, reflect societys revulsion at such crimes and to deter others from committing them. The story emerged on last month when a jury found Hood, who lives in Edinburgh city centre, guilty of raping the woman.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier stage in proceedings to charges of subjecting the woman he raped to threatening behaviour. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting another woman and subjecting her to threatening behaviour in 2018.

Following conviction, prosecutor Richard Goddard KC told Lord Arthurson that prior to his arrest, Hood was unemployed. Mr Goddard also said that the accused has appeared in court on previous occasions.

He added: The accused has a significant criminal record. On Wednesday, Lord Arthurson also placed Hood on the Sex Offenders Register for life.