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Sean Hartley committed serious offences against several different women all over the Highlands and Moray between 2004 and 2019.

Hartley, who is originally from Forres, was due to stand trial at the High Court in Inverness today where he faced a total of 26 charges.

But his defence counsel, Brian McConnachie, told Lord Mulholland that his client wished to admit some of the offences.

Lord Mulholland is now due to sentence Hartley tomorrow.

Hartley pleaded guilty to seven charges, including three rapes, three serious assaults and one of a course of domestic abuse.

• Charge 1 - Hartley repeatedly punched and slapped a woman in various locations in Elgin, Forres and Nairn between February 25, 2004 and December 31, 2005. He also pushed her and seized her by the hair, held a pillow over her head, threw objects at her, repeatedly kicked her on the body and spat on her all to her injury.
• Charge 2 - He raped a woman in a house in Forres on July 9, 2005.
• Charge 3 - He repeatedly punched and slapped a woman around the head and broke jewellery from around her neck on various occasions between June 1, 2008 and November 19, 2009 at a house in Burghead.
• Charge 4 - on various occasions between February 19, 2010 and August 31, 2014 at properties in Inverness, Culloden, Inverness city centre, the Merkinch area of Inverness, a bar on Keppoch Road, Inverness and a house in Forres, he repeatedly slapped and punched a woman on the head and body. He also compressed her neck, restricting her breathing. In addition he threw a cup of hot liquid at her and spat on her.
• Charge 5 - on various occasions between the same dates and locations as charge 4, he sexually assaulted and raped a woman, while restricting her breathing.
• Charge 6 - on July 28, 2017 at a house in Forres, he raped a woman.
• Charge 7 - between April 1, 2014 and December 10, 2019 at properties in Thurso, Forres, and Inverness including a children's playpark, he subjected a woman to a course of domestic abuse, threatened to kill her, called her derogatory names, compressed her neck and restricted her breathing, and struck her on the head and body. The charge also includes that Hartley threw hot liquid at her, spat on her, isolated her from her family and friends by deleting her mobile phone contacts and controlled her access to social media. He also chose her clothing, regulated and monitored her activities and had her send him pictures of her whereabouts.

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A prolific predator from Moray has been jailed for eight years today for a catalogue of sex crimes against 10 victims.

A judge told Matthew Watson that his behaviour was "utterly despicable".

Lord Richardson stated the 36-year had used his victims for sexual gratification, adding his actions have had a profound and long-lasting effect on some of them.

Speaking at the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Richardson added: "As you will surely recognise a lengthy period in custody is the only appropriate sentence I can pass on you to reflect your appalling conduct.

"You subjected each of these women to deeply distressing experiences."

Lord Richardson also ordered Watson should be kept under supervision for a further five years following his eventual release from prison.

The court heard that Watson of Mannochmore, Thomshill, had been assessed as posing a high risk of being convicted again for sexual offences in the future.

Lord Richardson said a background report prepared on the rapist revealed that he continued to deny responsibility for his most serious crimes.

Watson was earlier found guilty of five offences by a jury.

These included three charges of rape and one of assault with intent to rape.

He also admitted a further 13 offences, including indecent conduct and having sex with a minor.

The offences occurred across Moray and in Inverness between 2005, when Watson was 19, and 2018.

One victim told police that Watson had sent her a friend's request through Facebook after her 14th birthday.

His messages to the schoolgirl quickly became flirtatious, then increasingly sexual.

He asked for naked pictures.

As a result of his persistence she sent him a topless photograph.

Watson responded with pictures of his naked torso and penis.

He went on to pick up the child in his car and drive her to a wooded area for sex on two occasions.

Another 14-year-old was raped inside a car at a location in Inverness.

Watson will be placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

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Cameron Thomson, of Cameron Drive, Keith, also denied to officers that he was sexually attracted to children after 401 images were found on his mobile phone. At Inverness Sheriff Court, Thomson admitted possessing the images, 54 of which were category A, the most serious, involving girls aged between 10 and 15. He also pleaded guilty to distributing three of the images.

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A sex predator who tried to evade justice has been jailed for 11 years.

Colin Ritchie preyed on four children during an 18-year campaign of abuse.

The crimes mainly occurred in Elgin and Fochabers, both in Moray.

The 56-year-old had been due to face the allegations at a high court hearing in March 2020. However, Ritchie failed to show before being eventually held and hauled into the dock.

The first offender was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday.

He was previously found guilty after a trial in Aberdeen of 11 charges including lewd and libidinous behaviour, indecent assault, breaching bail and failing to appear for the earlier court hearing.

Judge Graham Buchanan told Ritchie: You were convicted of serious sexual offences against children.

In the course of the crimes against one boy, it is apparent that you groomed and corrupted him over a substantial period.

This was to the point that he believed the depraved conduct was perfectly normal.

It is inevitable that what you did to him and the other victims resulted in long-lasting consequences and psychologically damaging for them.

Ritchie who appeared via video link from prison repeatedly shook his head as he was sentenced.

The abuse occurred between 1988 and 2006. Ritchie targeted two boys and two girls during that time.

One victim was as young as seven when Ritchie struck.

Bill Adam, defending, said Ritchie continues to maintain his innocence.

Judge Buchanan also placed Ritchie on the sex offenders list indefinitely.

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A Forres man has escaped a jail sentence for trying to lure young girls into sending him indecent photographs of themselves.

Kevin Johnston (48) was snared by a paedophile hunting group which had posed as under-age teenagers on the internet.

Johnston sent them videos of himself carrying out a sex act both while he was in work and at home.

At Inverness Sheriff Court today Johnston was sentence to 225 hours of unpaid work.

Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald also placed him on the sex offender's register and put him under the supervision of social workers for the next three years.

She told him: "I could send you to jail which this merits, but you will not get any help.

"Your intention was clear, you wanted sexual relations with young girls.

"Had they been children, the consequences would have been devastating and lifelong."

The Sheriff criticised Johnston for continuing to minimise and deny his attraction to pre-pubescent girls.

Sheriff Macdonald added: "I have heard you have lost everything, your job and your family. But you only have yourself to blame."

Defence solicitor Grant Daglish told the court that his client has been assessed as being at a low risk of offending again.

The solicitor added that Johnston had now got a new job in Inverness.

Sheriff Macdonald asked Mr Daglish if Johnston had offered any explanation for his behaviour.

Mr Daglish replied: "He is at a loss as to why he did it.

"He advises me that ages did not occur to him.

"Perhaps it was boredom and low mental health."

At a previous hearing, Inverness Sheriff Court was told that the targeted under-age teenagers were actually decoys from the "Hunting Online Predators Everyday", known as 'HOPE.'

The court heard that police raided his former home in Califer Road and seized phones and a computer.

It was then discovered that Johnston had also contacted other targeted.

These might have been real teenagers. However, they could not be traced.

Johnston, who has since moved away from Forres, admitted communicating sexually with children or people he believed to be children between March 25, 2020 and July 4, 2020.

Fiscal depute Robert Weir said that the decoys made it clear on chat and dating websites how old they were pretending to be and did not initiate sexual communications.

Mr Weir said Johnston tried to persuade the girls to send him 'naughty pictures'.

One of his user names was 'hornyhighlander', but he also used 'cantsleepmale.'

In one instance with an unidentified girl, Mr Weir said: "he continued to send sexual messages for three months trying to get a response."

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A PAEDOPHILE who carried out an "appalling" catalogue of abuse and rape against children was jailed for 13 years today.

Gary Dunn left one young girl feeling that she wanted to suffocate and die as he subjected her to a painful sexual assault.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh told Dunn (61): "Child sexual abuse is an abhorrent crime and will not be tolerated in our society."

Lady Poole said that Dunn had been convicted of "appalling offences" of sexual crime against his victims.

The judge said victims "had to endure many disgusting acts of depravity" carried out by Dunn for his gratification.

Dunn preyed on child victims over more than two decades at addresses in Moray and the rape of one victim in Aberdeen.

He had earlier denied a series of charges during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, but was found guilty of three rape offences and three indecency crimes against girls.

Dunn, formerly of Rothes, began his sex crime spree in 1998 and continued until 2019 during which time he abused three girl victims.

Lady Poole said that victim impact statements provided to the court made "distressing reading".

One woman who was molested and assaulted by Dunn as a child said that on one occasion she was subjected to a painful ordeal.

She said: "I had my head in between pillows and I was hoping I could suffocate and die, to be honest."

The woman, now aged 32, thought that she was 13 or 14 years old when Dunn perpetrated the abuse in the incident.

Advocate depute Peter Ferguson QC asked her how she felt afterwards and she replied: "I felt sore. I felt numb. I just wanted it to stop."

Dunn had previously preyed on the girl and told her to close her eyes during sex acts he performed on her.

His most recent abuse of a child occurred in 2018 and 2019 when he sexually assaulted a girl from the age of 10 and simulated sex with her and raped her.

He had previously molested another girl from the age between 2003 and 2006 when he touched her and simulated sex with her.

Dunn had appeared in the dock at his trial with the aid of two walking sticks and his defence counsel Bill Adam drew attention to his age and declining health.

Mr Adam told the court: "It is very difficult for him in prison given his conditions."

Lady Poole ordered that Dunn should be kept under supervision for a further three year period.

Dunn was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

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A Keith man who downloaded indecent images and videos of children including a baby used a relative's internet connection on one occasion.

During October 2019, Police Scotland received intelligence that Facebook user Euan Davidson, of Fraser Place, had uploaded a Category A indecent image of a child on October 3, 2018.

A search warrant was obtained for Davidson's home but a preliminary examination of the 40-year old's electronic devices found no evidence of child pornography.

However they were then submitted for further analysis.

Speaking today at Inverness Sheriff Court, fiscal depute Robert Weir said: "During the examination of the mobile telephone 16 category A, B and C indecent images of children were found.

"The children featured were estimated to be between four and 14 years of age."

Mr Weir stated that as well as the still images, seven category A and C videos of boys aged between infancy and 15 years-old were also discovered.

Defence solicitor Matthew O'Neill said a background report would be required before sentencing.

Sheriff Sara Matheson deferred the case until May 17 and immediately placed Davidson's on the Sex Offender's Register.

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A Moray man has admitted sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl while she tried to sleep.

The teenager lay motionless on a sofa while Stephen Gwilliam carried out the attack.

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Kevin Duncan sexually assaulted a sleeping woman after climbing into bed with her, and was last year sentenced to 225 hours of unpaid work.

But yesterday the 22-year-old returned to Elgin Sheriff Court, after contacting the two women on Facebook and subjecting them to lewd advances.

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A BRUTAL sex attacker who terrorised six young women has been jailed for 10 years. Painter Marc McKillop, 27, raped one woman and attempted to murder another, seizing her by the hair and dragging her down stairs. He attacked one victim while she was breastfeeding a baby, and put a belt round a womans neck and choked her until she thought she was going to die. Judge Lady Scott told him he had subjected his victims to a storm of violence. McKillop, of Rothes, Moray, claimed all his victims were liars. But he was found guilty of 21 offences including attempted murder, rape, indecent assault, assault to permanent disfigurement and assault to the danger of life. He was cleared of a further rape charge on a not proven verdict. McKillop attacked his victims over seven years at addresses in Moray and Aberdeen, often grabbing the women by the neck. He also thrust his fingers into one victims eyes, put a pillow over a womans head and scarred a victim by striking her in the chest with a car key. The High Court in Edinburgh heard that victims had been left profoundly depressed and in some cases suicidal. McKillop will be supervised for three years after release and was placed on the sex offenders register indeifinitely. His lawyer said in mitigation that he had a good work ethic.

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An "incorrigible" Moray sex offender has been given a life sentence. Donald Main, 24, of Elgin, was given a mobile phone for his own safety by police - but used it to contact boys. Lord Uist told Main: "It is plain to me that you are an incorrigible sex offender and a serious danger to the public." The judge, at the High Court in Edinburgh, ordered Main to serve at least 18 months, and will be kept under supervision for the rest of his life. Main contacted three boys he did not know aged between 10 and 16. He began making contact with youngsters within days of being freed from a two-year jail sentence imposed after he followed a 12-year-old boy. The registered sex offender was also previously jailed for 40 months after being convicted of abducting a 12-year-old boy. He was also sentenced to 12 months detention in 2007 after breaching a probation order following indecent conduct towards boys aged between 11 and 13.

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A TEACHER who performed a sex act in front of a schoolboy on the internet has been spared jail.

Christopher Daniels was sentenced to a two-year community payback order for the offence and for having indecent images of children.

The 29-year-old was working as an IT tutor at Lossiemouth High School in Moray when he exposed himself to the 15-year-old over a webcam.

Last month, Daniels admitted intentionally causing the boy to look at a sexual image by performing a sex act during a video call at his house in Lossiemouth on July 2, last year.

He further admitted having indecent images of children between December 31, 2011, and January 10 this year.

Sentence was deferred until yesterday so that a string of reports, including a psychiatric assessment, could be prepared and he was put on the sex offenders register.

The court previously heard how the young victims mum contacted police after finding a string of messages between her son and Daniels on the familys computer.

The teachers home was searched by Grampian Police officers in January this year.

Solicitor Stephen Carty said Daniels had already been punished by the fact that his career as a teacher had ended.

He said: This has had quite an impact on him.

Sheriff Susan Raeburn said Daniels would be supervised for two years as part of the order and would have to attend a sex offenders programme.

Daniels will remain on the sex offenders register for two years.

A Moray Council spokesman said Daniels left his job at the school before the case had concluded.

He added: He is no longer employed by the council.

He could now face education chiefs at the General Teaching Council.

A spokesman said Daniels was currently banned from working at any school.