Latest Offenders Renfrewshire

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David Devine, a 44-year-old man from Busby, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, has been convicted of raping and sexually assaulting a 39-year-old woman at his home in December 2022.

The assault took place on the sofa in his living room while his children and the victim's children were sleeping upstairs. Devine carried out the attack after his wife had gone upstairs to check on the children. The incident ended when his wife returned and intervened.

Following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, Devine was found guilty of rape and sexual assault. He was sentenced to six years in prison. Additionally, he has been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and issued with a non-harassment order preventing him from contacting the victim.

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A RAPIST who was today jailed for a 'horrific attack' on a woman in her Greenock home has now been unmasked. 

Robert McGregor, 44, was caged for seven years at the High Court in Edinburgh. 

Following a request from the Tele, Police Scotland released a picture of McGregor and blasted his 'reprehensible actions'.

A judge told him today: "This was a horrific attack on a woman in her home in which your desire to humiliate and degrade is obvious."

Lord Young, who was provided with a victim impact statement, said: "The effect on her has been both traumatic and truly life altering."

The attack took place in the morning after a party and the woman described McGregor's whole demeanour changing before he launched the vicious assault.

Lord Young told McGregor: "You are a 44-year-old with a history of regular, often very well paid, employment."

The judge said he accepted that there was no pre-planning involved in the offence and noted that the rapist was assessed as posing a medium risk of re-offending.

Offshore scaffolder McGregor had earlier denied raping the woman but was convicted of the offence following a trial.

During the attack on August 22, 2020, he dragged the woman into the living room of her flat and pushed and grabbed her before raping her.

He threw her onto a couch and continued with the rape attack ignoring her when she repeatedly told him to stop. 

Defence counsel Edith Forrest said at the time of the rape attack he was drinking and occasionally using cocaine.

Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector David Tomlinson said: “McGregor’s reprehensible actions have caused lasting harm, and he will now face the consequences.

“We encourage anyone who has experienced any form of sexual or violent offence, regardless of when it happened, to report it.

"We will investigate all reports thoroughly and have specially trained officers and partner agencies who will support you throughout.”

Advocate depute Margaret Barron moved the court to grant a non harassment order and Lord Young made such an order prohibiting McGregor from contacting or attempting to contact the victim.

McGregor, formerly of Brown Street, was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

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A Paisley beast has been jailed for five years after being found guilty of “orchestrated and persistent” child sex abuse spanning over two decades.

Twisted David Cardona was last month found guilty by a jury, following a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court, of the abuse of three youngsters.

The jury found the 65-year-old unanimously guilty of using “lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour” towards a boy aged under 13 between October 21, 1994 and October 23, 1994.

Creepy Cardona got into the boy’s bed while he was sleeping, laid next to him, attempted to pull his trousers down and, thereafter, performed a sex act on him.

Cardona, of Westburn Avenue in the town, was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 16 on “various occasions” between July 11, 2013 and August 20, 2018 by touching her private parts through her clothing.

The court heard evidence Cardona would carry out these sexual assaults when the girl was sleeping or falling asleep.

A witness told the jury: “It was at night, he would lift her but place his hands at her pants.”

The witness told the court how this had impacted the girl and added: “When she told me, she was in pieces, she was crying; crying as if she was having a panic attack.

“After it happened, she distanced herself from him.

“It changed her, she stayed in her room after it happened, her hair would fall out, she started cutting her wrists.”

Cardona was also found guilty of sexually assaulting another girl while she was under the age of 13.

Between August 2019 and August 2021, the paedophile on “various occasions” assaulted this youngster by placing his hand inside her trousers and sexually assaulting her.

Yesterday, Sheriff Gillian Craig slammed Cardona stating: “You are a predator of the most dangerous and devious sort.

“These offences are in a league of very serious crime.

“Your victims have already lived with the trauma and may live with the trauma for the rest of their lives.

“I’ve read the victim impact statements and what is clear is the impact is devastating, you robbed these children of their childhood.”

Defence agent, Paul Keenan KC told the court there was “little he could say in mitigation”.

He added: “Mr Cardona maintains he is innocent, he understands the jury’s verdict and rejects that position.

“He is under no illusion of the severity and fully accepts the offences he’s convicted of are exceptionally serious and there will ne no choice but to impose a custodial sentence.”

Sentencing, Sheriff Craig added:

“I commend all of the victims for their bravery in coming to police.

“The ripples of what you’ve done will be felt through their families and loved ones.

“A custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal.”

Cardona was jailed for five years and, upon his release, he will be subject to licence for three years with conditions fixed by Scottish ministers.

In addition, he was made subject to a non-harassment order for each of the three victims for 20 years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order also for twenty years.

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A man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexual offences committed in the Inverclyde area.

Matthew James, 47, carried out the offences, including rape, against a woman and a child between 2015 and 2022.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, 31 July 2025, after previously pleading guilty on Thursday, 22 May 2025.

Detective Inspector David Tomlinson said:

"Matthew James is a despicable predator, and he is now being held accountable for his depraved actions.

"I commend the victims for their strength in coming forward and assisting our investigation. I hope this sentencing brings them some form of closure.

"I'd urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual crime or who has information about such offences, to report it - regardless of when it happened. you will be listened to and supported."

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A 19-year-old man convicted of serious sexual crimes in Paisley has been jailed for seven years.

Kyle Jackson was sentenced to seven years in prison at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday, 23 July, 2025. He was also issued with a non-harassment order.

He was found guilty of a number of serious offences including rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault at the High Court in Paisley on Wednesday, 11 June, 2025, following an extensive police investigation. The offences took place between September 2020 and October 2022.

Detective Sergeant Jonathan Campbell said: 

“Kyle Jackson is a dangerous man who carried out these horrifying crimes across a number of years, and he will now face the consequences of his despicable actions in prison.

“This outcome was made possible thanks to the victims who came forward and reported him and I commend them for the strength they have shown during the investigation and court proceedings. Our thoughts remain with them, and I hope this sentencing offers them some comfort as they move forward with their lives.

“Officers carried out extensive enquiries during the course of this investigation, and I would like to reassure our communities that we are committed to investigating all reports of sexual crimes. We remain determined to bring those responsible to justice no matter how much time has passed.

“I urge anyone who has been the victim of any offence of this nature to come forward to police – you will be fully supported by our officers and partner agencies.”

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David Colquhoun, 45, committed the serious sexual offence against a woman at an address in Renfrew in April, 2023.

He was convicted on Tuesday, 3 June, 2025, and is due to be sentenced on Monday, 30 June.

Detective Inspector Euan McMillan said: “Colquhoun is now facing the consequences of his violent, sexual attack on this woman.

"We acknowledge it can be difficult for victims of sexual crimes to come forward and I would like to commend the woman for reporting Colquhoun. I hope this outcome provides her with some form of justice.

“We are committed to tackling all forms of sexual violence and I would urge anyone who wishes to report a crime, to come forward. You will be fully supported by our specially trained officers and partner agencies. There is no time bar to reporting, regardless of when it happened, please contact us so we can fully investigate.”

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A young Paisley paedophile has been caught with over 500 images of vile child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Creepy Callum Beith was also caught with videos of “extreme pornography” on his iPhone which involved adult male and females engaging in sexual acts with animals including dogs, fish and poultry.

When cops raided the 24-year-old’s home, he initially tried to deceive cops by not coming forward with all of his mobile devices.

However cops carried out a wifi check which lead them to discover a device which hadn’t been handed over initially by Beith.

The pervert told cops there was a hidden iPhone which lead them to carry out a full cyber crime investigation.

Procurator fiscal depute Michael Cunningham told Paisley Sheriff Court Beith’s family home in the much-sought after Main Road in Paisley was raided by cops on February 16, last year.

Mr Cunningham explained: “Around 7.40am police attended with a search warrant. The accused’s mother permitted entry and called him downstairs.

“A search was carried out and officers recovered two iPads, an Apple laptop, five iPhones and a Toshiba hard drive.

“DC Gibson examined the wifi device and noted a device had not been recovered and gave the accused an opportunity to provide this.

“The accused stated there was an old mobile phone that he had left behind on holiday and initially denied any other devices.

“Then he stated there was an iPhone in the wardrobe in the bedroom.

“It was discovered there were 40 moving images of child exploitation and abuse consisting of Category A, B and C.

“They involved male and female children aged between one and 12-years-old.

“Some moving images had been deleted on February 16.

“The accused was arrested and cautioned and charged and later released on an undertaking to appear at this court at a later date.”

Mr Cunningham told the town’s court a full cyber crime analysis was carried out on twisted Beith’s iPhone.

He added: “A total of 579 images of the sexual abuse of children were recovered. There were 145 Category A images.

“Also discovered was 141 videos of child sexual exploitation and abuse. These ranged from Category A to Category C involving children aged three to 16-years-old. 116 videos fell under Category A.

“Extreme pornography was also discovered with seven videos showing adults illegally engaging in sexual acts with animals including, dogs, fish and poultry.”

Beith pleaded guilty to being in possession of indecent images of children between September 1, 2018 and February 16, last year at his Paisley home.

He also admitted to being in possession of “extreme pornographic images depicting in an explicit and realistic way, adults having sexual activities with animals” between June 13, 2019 and August 25, 2021.

Defence agent Anthony Boland invited the court to call for a full range of reports and reserved mitigation.

Sheriff Brian Mohan stated: “I’m going to need some background information.

“Your bail will be continued and reports will be called for, then I’ll hear from your solicitor.

“You will be placed on the Sex Offender’s Register with the period to be determined at the next hearing.”

Sentence was adjourned for a risk assessment to be carried out and for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment.

Beith will return to court for sentencing in July.

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A Renfrewshire former Scout leader and foster parent who sexually abused two boys has died in jail.

William Quigg, 83, of Bridge of Weir was jailed for 10 years in 2019 after being convicted of sexually abusing two children.

His offences took place between 1980 and 1986 at two addresses in Glasgow. Quigg admitted sexually abusing one boy when the victim was aged between 12 and 15 but denied raping the other boy and sexually abusing him from the age of 12 to 16.

Neither of the boys were scouts.

He was told at his sentencing at Livingston High Court that his name would remain on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.

A fatal accident inquiry will take place following Quigg's death at HMP Dumfries.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual.

“Following the death of someone in our care, Police Scotland are advised, and the matter reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Fatal Accident Inquiries are held in due course.”

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A man described by a judge as “every parent’s worst nightmare” has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for committing multiple online sexual offences against children.

Christopher Laing, 38, was convicted at Teesside Crown Court of possession of 67 category C images of children, eight counts of making indecent images of children, seven counts of causing or inciting girls aged 13-15 into sexual activity, eight counts of sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a child after grooming.

He had been initially bailed by Police Scotland after being found in possession of indecent images of two 14-year-old girls from the Cleveland Police area.

Then in June 2023 he was arrested by Cleveland Police officers when he travelled from his home in Renfrewshire Scotland, to the Cleveland area in an attempt to meet up with a 15-year-old girl, after communicating with her sexually online.

He sent photographs of himself travelling on a train to Teesside in an attempt to meet with the child and had booked a hotel in the area.

After the girl informed her parents that he was travelling to the area, they alerted the police who arrested Laing at the station as his train came in.

Laing’s mobile phone was seized by police as part of the investigation and during forensic examination of the device it was discovered that Laing had been in contact with multiple teenage girls across the country.

The court heard he attempted to goad the girls into sending indecent images of themselves to him for money and gifts.

When the children refused, he made threats to rape them. Officers found evidence on his laptop, that Laing had researched the addresses of his victims and knew where each of them lived.

Victim impact statements read out to the court heard that one teenage victim no longer felt safe and worried every day that she would receive a message on her phone from Laing. Her mental health had declined as she was taunted by the memory of Laing’s messages.

Another victim described how her confidence had been shattered, and was afraid to go to school, fearing that people knew about the messages that Laing had sent to her.

During sentencing, Judge Carroll expressed concern regarding Laing’s use of the threat of rape against children to fulfil his sexual desires, describing Laing as “every parent’s worst nightmare”. He also praised the bravery of the victims in coming forward.

Laing was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison and will not be eligible for parole until he has served five of these.

He was further sentenced to another one year and eight months for possession of illicit images and sexual communication offences, which will run concurrently with the main sentence.

Laing was also made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which limits his use of internet-enabled devices and means that any devices he purchases may be subject to an examination by a police officer at any time. He must also sign the Sex Offenders Register for life on his release from prison.

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A convicted paedophile changed his identity and lied his way to become President of the World Burns Federation where he had direct access to school children.

Marc Sherland organised children’s poetry competitions and boasted he was safe to work with vulnerable children.

But the 67-year-old, who rubbed shoulders with the elite at lavish events, was in fact disgraced community worker Douglas Stuart Hammond who had sexually assaulted two boys after luring hundreds of children to his home.

He’d been able to change his name and go under the radar for several years until his identity was exposed and he’s now been forced to resign. There are calls for an urgent investigation into how Sherland, who was convicted in 1991 and was not on the sex offenders register, went unnoticed.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay MSP who is calling on the government to fast track legislation to stop sex offenders changing their names said: “This chilling case will be of concern to every parent in Scotland.

“Only an investigation can establish the exact circumstances of this deeply concerning case. While this individual was free to change his name, his past crimes should still have shown up in background checks working with children.

“If checks were done, did they reveal his offending history? If they did not, was that because of his name change?

“Sex offenders should not be able to hide their identities by changing their names and I would again urge SNP ministers to reconsider their inexplicable opposition to closing this dangerous loophole.”

Scottish Labour’s Justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: “Concerns will be rightly raised over this situation. Action needs to be taken to close the loophole of offenders who committed their crimes before the register was created going undetected.”

Hammond was convicted of the indecent assault of an eight and 10-year old boy when he was an educational community worker at Strathclyde Regional Council. He assaulted the youngsters during “dummy fighting” at his home and claimed the ‘games’ helped the boys break down emotional barriers, according to court reports at the time.

Paisley Sheriff Court trial heard that as many as 200 children had visited his home and during questioning the sick 35-year-old said: “I took the boys to my flat to talk about their personal and family problems. “These were boys with serious social behavioural problems.”

One child had to punch him to get him to stop the abuse while another confessed to his grandmother what was happening.

In the years since his conviction, Hammond changed his name to Marc Sherland and rose through the ranks of Robert Burns clubs and literary groups throughout Scotland.

An author profile for him on the Scottish Book Trust website stated that he could work with adults and children including care-experienced people, vulnerable adults, people with mental health problems, prisoners and young offenders, despite having been convicted of abusing vulnerable boys.

In 2020, he became the president of the World Burns Federation and has been president of the Lanarkshire Association of Burns clubs, Glasgow Haggis Club and a Vice President of the Glasgow and district Burns association, among others.

Through these roles he worked with children presenting awards and judging competitions with images of his attendance at one Glasgow primary school shared on social media.

He also rubbed shoulders with senior local government figures and attended lavish banquets in the Glasgow City Chambers.

In 2017 the pervert began organising the Aye Can poetry summer school for 11-16-year-olds at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow.

But his past caught up with him in December when he was confronted by another member and was forced to resign from all the clubs. His profile as an author with Scottish Book Trust has been removed.

A source at the club said: “A conviction from over 30 years ago came to light, Bridgeton Burns Club President confronted him around Christmas time.

“We did background checks and it showed a name change. Inquiries were made and the president alongside another Trustee met him to confront him about the name change and the convictions.

“As far as I’m aware he admitted it, apologised and resigned in writing.”

The Sex Offenders’ Register was set up in 1997 but it is not retroactive meaning Sherland would never have been placed on it.

Any checks done on him using his new name would not have shown that he had a conviction for child abuse and no safeguards were in place as he wasn’t on the register.

The Sunday Mail confronted Sherland at his home in Erskine where he admitted he shouldn’t have been working with children.

But he claimed he changed his name due to his work as an author.

Sherland said: “I am a writer and the reason I changed my name was because, as a writer I realised that my given name was relatively common and changing it to a name that was not relatively common was a good idea. I’m now suffering because of that I have to say, but that’s the reason.

“It wasn’t because of my convictions.

“I was registered with the Scottish Book Trust but I’ve now removed myself from that as well as I don’t want to bring them into disrepute.”

When asked if he accepted that working with children would be a concern to parents and he should not have been doing it, he said: “Yes I think that probably is the case.

“I thought that the distance in time was so great and the change in my personality was so great that it wasn’t such an issue. On reflection, yes I believe that’s true.

“I’ve never been in a situation where I have been one-to-one with a child, nor would I put myself in that situation in a school.”

Based in Kilmarnock it has over 250 affiliated Burns Clubs around the world - reaching as far afield as New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada and the USA.

A Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) spokeswoman said the Aye Can event was commissioned by the Glasgow and District Burns Society and Sherland didn’t teach children during the summer school.

The spokeswoman said: “The safety and well-being of young people at RCS is and has always been a primary priority with stringent safeguarding policies and processes in place to underpin the work we do.”

Online adverts for the Aye Can event taking place at RCS were posted by the Glasgow Burns and District Association in 2022 and 2023 listing Sherland as the point of contact.

RCS insisted the event only took place in 2017 and 2018.

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “For safeguarding reasons, pupils are never left alone with school visitors and remain supervised at all times by staff.

“School staff regularly invite visitors in from partner organisations for learning and teaching purposes.

“Pupil safety is always our priority.

"We have no statutory obligation to request disclosure checks for all visitors entering school premises."

The Scottish Government said the issue was for Disclosure Scotland to address.

A Disclosure Scotland spokesman said: “We cannot comment on individual cases.”

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A thug is behind bars for the "merciless" abuse of a woman and boy. Kenneth Quinn was convicted of the attacks spanning four decades.

The pair regularly suffered at the 49-year-old's violent hands including the repeated rape of the woman. Quinn admitted to jurors that he was "utterly ashamed" of himself.

He accepted physically harming both - but insisted the sex attacks did not happen. However, Quinn was convicted of a total of 10 charges following a harrowing trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

This included two counts of repeatedly raping the woman, assaulting her to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement as well as engaging in abusive behaviour.

He was further guilty of physically attacking the boy to his injury on various occasions. The crimes occurred between 1994 and 2021 at different addresses in Paisley, Renfrewshire, as well as in the Scottish Borders.

Quinn, of Elderslie, also Renfrewshire, had been on bail during the trial. But he was remanded in custody by judge Lady Stacey pending sentencing.

Jurors heard how Quinn first assaulted the woman in the 1990s. The attacks then occurred "so often" it ended up difficult to say exactly when they happened.

The physical abuse involved him smacking the victim with a dog lead and shoes as well as kicking her down stairs, booting her on the body and chucking food at her.

The woman also suffered a broken arm. The trial heard how the victim - who was humiliated and degraded - would often beg him to stop.

Describing one incident which left the victim scarred for life, prosecutor Greg Farrell put to him: "She said that you held her in place with one hand and used a bank card in the other to strike her repeatedly on the face."

Quinn: "That is a lie." Mr Farrell said the woman especially was "terrorised". The advocate depute: "It was a relentless course of violence by you. It was merciless." Quinn: "It was bad." Mr Farrell: "It was more than bad."

Quinn then stated at one stage: "I am here to accept my failings as an individual." But, although he accepted much of the violence, Quinn denied any sexual abuse. He insisted he was "100% respectful" if the woman didn't want sex.

The court heard, however, that he hung his head in shame and confessed to raping the woman when confronted. Mr Farrell: "You maintain that (the boy) is lying when he heard you admit to raping the woman?"

Quinn: "Both of them are lying." The trial heard how the boy was also thrown down stairs, grabbed by the hair, flung to the ground and slapped on the head.

Quinn's lawyer Euan Gosney asked him during his evidence: "Anything that you would like to say about the repeated violence?"

A sobbing Quinn replied: "I am utterly ashamed of myself. I am sorry to the bottom of my heart." Sentencing was adjourned for reports.

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A Linwood man has been caught with over 100 indecent images of children on his mobile phone.

Cops received information that creepy Stuart Fratson had the vile pictures on his phone and raided his home in Russell Place in June last year.

The 45-year-old admitted at Paisley Sheriff Court to being in possession of indecent photographs between April 26, 2022 and June 23, 2022.

Fratson also admitted between April and June last year, he did take, permit to be taken, or made indecent or pseudo-photographs of children.

Procurator fiscal depute, Matt Piskorz told the court police received a tip-off in September 2021, that a device in Fratson’s home address was connected to the internet which contained indecent images of children.

Mr Piskorz explained: “A search warrant was granted and on June 10, 2022, police officers attended at Fratson’s home address at 7.45am

“Fratson allowed police entry and they explained their reason for attendance.

“The property was searched and various electronic devices were recovered including a black Samsung Galaxy device.

“Fratson claimed ownership of this and provided the PIN.

“Around 9am, PC Wallace from the cybercrime unit attended the property to assist with the examination of the devices.

“A short time late, police officer Gilmour was informed by PC Wallace that indecent images of children had been found on the Samsung device.

“All other devices were examined and found to be negative after which they were then returned to their owners with the exception of a computer tower unit which was retained by cybercrime officers to conduct further analysis.

“The Samsung was examined and found to have a SIM card within.

“This device was noted as being the property of Fratson and was found to contain a number of account artefacts in his name including a photograph of a passport in the name of Fratson and a wage slip also in his name.

“A total of 126 still images were present on the device.”

Fratson’s defence lawyer asked for reports to be called for and reserved further mitigation.

Sheriff Thomas Ward stated: “This is a serious matter and I’ll have to get a social work report to find out how best to deal with this.”

Mr Piskorz explained a break-down of the images, detailing which category of seriousness they fall into would be provided to the court on the next occasion.

Sentence was deferred for the preparation of a criminal justice social work report and a restriction of liberty order assessment.

Fratson, who is now living in homeless accommodation in Paisley’s Abercorn Street, was placed on the Sex Offender’s Register and will return to the town’s court on December 7 for sentencing. His bail was continued meantime.

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A social care worker has been jailed after preying on vulnerable children he was being paid to help.

Manipulative Graham Burgess (left) groomed a teenage victim and then sexually abused her, watched another teen girl get changed, and drew explicit pictures in front of a young boy.

The 58-year-old targeted youngsters in his role as a child care manager within a care team at Renfrewshire Council.

Burgess had responsibility for 20 to 25 children at one time, with his role involving him preparing reports for the Children’s Reporter, liaising with other agencies, supporting the child and agreeing a care plan to meet the child’s needs.

Most children in care have experienced trauma or loss and his post involved supporting kids and their carers, doing activities with the youngsters and sometimes arranging contact with the child and other family members.

He also was a duty worker in the team and would be asked to respond if there was a crisis or a worker was on holiday.

In 2015, while playing pool at a community centre in Paisley with a boy he was assigned to, he drew explicit pictures on a whiteboard, leaving the child “freaked out”.

After learning what had happened, the boy’s parents asked for Burgess to be banned from seeing him, and told his school he was not allowed to visit him.

In 2017 he barged into one teenage girl’s bedroom while she was getting changed – after she told him she was undressing and not to enter the room.

She ran to her gran after the incident and told her she no longer wanted Burgess to be her case worker.

He also preyed on a another teenager when she was aged between 15 and 17, grooming her before sexually assaulting her.

The court heard he convinced her to store his personal mobile phone number in her phone as ‘Art and Music Therapy’ and changed his profile picture to Vincent Van Gogh.

He told her that she should do that so her classmates did not know she had a case worker when she attended college.

He bombarded her with WhatsApp messages, texting her throughout the day on a daily basis, saying he was checking in and was “liking the banter”.

He regularly sent her funny videos, joking with her and saying he was getting to know her.

After giving her presents of arts and crafts items, a candle, a book and i-Pod, he cuddled her after arriving at her home, where she was alone, then said “someone’s excited” while looking at his crotch.

She noticed he was aroused by the interaction, leaving her panicked and feeling ‘like jelly’, before he put his hand around her neck, pulled her towards him and kissed her.

He later sexually assaulted her in the back of his car, after pulling over on a secluded road and convincing her to get into the back of the vehicle.

On another occasion, he grabbed her hand and made her touch his privates.

On Tuesday, Burgess was sentenced at Paisley Sheriff Court after having earlier been convicted of six offences relating to his conduct.

He was jailed for four years and 10 months, given a three year and two month extended sentence, which will see him supervised upon his release from prison, and he was also placed on the sex offenders’ register.

A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry for the harms caused by this individual and cooperated fully with the police investigation. The individual is no longer an employee of Renfrewshire Council.”

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A SEX offender who repeatedly raped three women during a catalogue of abuse that spanned two decades was jailed for seven years today.

Clark Thomson carried out attacks on victims in his home town of Paisley and other addresses in Renfrewshire.

Thomson, 45, formerly of Dunard Way, in Paisley, had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of three offences of rape and a further three crimes of assault.

One of the assaults was to the danger of life of the victim and she also suffered an attack that resulted in severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh that a jury had convicted him of "sustained, serious sexual abuse".

Judge John Morris KC said: "Only a substantial custodial sentence is appropriate in your case."

He told Thomson that statements provided to the court by victims disclosed continuing trauma suffered after his actions.

Thomson began his offending in 2001 at addresses in Paisley, including his former home in Spoolers Road, when he assaulted a woman and subjected her to rape attacks.

He also grabbed her, held her out a window and throttled her. Thomson threatened to pour boiling water over and spat on her face.

He also inflicted injury on her after he repeatedly headbutted, as she held a baby, resulting in her falling to the ground.

Thomson went on to subject a second woman to rapes at an address in Renfrew in 2011 and attacked a third woman who was seized by the body and pushed onto a bed at a house in Lochwinnoch in 2015.

His fourth victim was also subjected to rapes at a house in Johnstone between October 2020 and New Year's Day in 2021.

Defence counsel Joe Barr said that Thomson had previously accepted in his evidence that he could be aggressive.

He said: "He has asked me, even at this late stage, to convey his apologies to the complainers for his behaviour."

Mr Barr told the court: "He understands he will be offered courses and he has assured me he intends to take any opportunity given to him."

Thomson was told that he would be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following his sentencing.

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A vile Paisley carer has been jailed for two years after he sexually abused a disabled man he was supposed to be looking after.

Alexander Elliott also targeted one of his girlfriend's relatives and a 15-year-old girl. The 34-year-old was sentenced for the crimes carried out between 2018 and 2021 at Paisley Sheriff Court.

He was also place on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years. Elliot denied any wrong doing, however, he was convicted by jury earlier this year following a trial, the Daily Record reports.

The court heard that the carer preyed upon his girlfriend's relative in 2019. He contacted the woman and sent her a message "of a lewd, sexual and indecent nature".

He then targeted a disabled man he cared for repeatedly in January 2018 and January 2021. The court heard the victim was in a wheelchair and needed help with various tasks at his home in the Renfrewshire town.

He struggled to wash himself so Elliott had to assist with showering him, while the man was sitting on a seat within the shower. The court heard that, on various occasions, he made "inappropriate and sexual comments towards" the man.

Claims that he had also directed water from the shower towards the man's privates, and made a sexual remark, were deleted from the charge by the jury when they convicted him. He then went on to sexually assault a 15-year-old girl between May and June 2021.

He removed bed covers, touched her body, and rubbed himself against her sexually and also sent her sexual messages. The jury ruled it was "for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification or of humiliating, distressing or alarming" her and that the messages were "of a lewd, sexual and indecent nature".

Defence solicitor Gemma Elder had asked for Elliott, who had been remanded in custody since being convicted, to be spared prison. She said the first offender suffered from sciatica and had been left unable to work, but could do unpaid work as an alternative to prison.

She asked for him to be dealt with by a "high-tariff" Community Payback Order which would have seen him given the maximum number of hours of unpaid work and maximum period of supervision.

And she said he could also have been placed on a Restriction of Liberty Order - which would have seen him fitted with an electronic tag and having to abide by a daily home curfew - "for a significant period of time".

Sentencing Sheriff Hugh McGinty said: "You were convicted of sending indecent and sexually suggestive messages to one of your girlfriend's relatives. You were a carer for your victim, who required a significant amount of assistance due to his disability and you directed sexual comments to him while you were washing him.

"You sexually abused a girl when she was 15 years old and thereafter communicated sexually with her. The common denominator is that all of your victims were highly vulnerable and you were, unfortunately for them, in a position of trust as far as you were concerned. I form the view that the only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment."

Sheriff McGinty ruled the offences were too serious and backdated his jail term to last month, when he was found guilty by the jury.