January 2014

Care home abuser will serve just half of his sentence

An outraged mother whose daughter was preyed on by a sex obsessed care home worker has hit out after learning the convicted paedophile is set to be released from prison later this year

In November a jury had found Paul Lang guilty of a series of sickening attacks against three young girls following a trial at Dumbarton Sheriff court.

The 46 year old, who was employed as a residential care worker in Clydebank, abused his position of trust after gaining the confidence of two teenage girls who lived in the council run unit

But his actions came to light after staff at childrens facility were uncovered concerning text messages on a mobile phone belonging to one of the girls he was later accused of assaulting

Lang was also convicted of sexually assaulting a six year girl at a house in Drumchapel

He was handed a five year extended sentence in December which included two years in prison and he was also placed on the sex offenders register

However current rules state that sex offenders who receive prison sentences between six months and four years are released half way through their sentence on licence although they can be recalled if they breach their licence conditions

It means Lang’s victims were recently informed that he would be freed in around 10 months, which angered the mother of one the girls he targeted

Devious Lang, though, insisted he was not responsible and that all three victims were liars. However, the jury chose to believe the evidence of the youngsters, including the six-year-old who was forced to endure a distressing two days in court recounting her experience.

Even ater he was convicted Lang refused to admit guilt which was described as a ” slap in the face for his victims”

November 2013

Care home worker in children’s home is guilty of sex abuse

A sex-obsessed care home worker who preyed on vulnerable young girls — is facing a prison sentence after he was found guilty of a series of sickening offences. 

Paul Lang, a father-of-five, who is originally from Drumchapel, wormed his way into the confidence of two teenage girls who were residents at a Clydebank care home where he was working.

The 46-year-old also turned his attentions to a six-year-old girl at a house in Drumchapel when the youngster’s mother was not at home. He went into her bedroom late at night during a house party and sexually assaulted her, a court heard.

Lang denied all the allegations against him, claiming his accusers were telling lies, but last week after a two-and-a-half week trial at Dumbarton Sheriff Court a jury of 13 returned majority guilty verdicts in relation to seven separate charges.

Sarah Healing, prosecuting, convinced the jury there was a sinister motive behind Lang’s “over friendly” ways. In her closing speech she reminded the court Lang was in a position of trust in relation to all three girls who looked up to him as a “father figure”.

Referring to the two girls in the care home, she said: “Just because they are troubled, just because they have a difficult background, just because they are finding life hard does not mean they are telling lies about this.”

Ms Healing went on to say Lang was well aware of the vulnerability of all three girls and that he exploited their vulnerability.

She described Lang as a “calculating, devious and manipulative” individual who, she said, couldn’t be trusted, adding: “Paul Lang would have you believe that everyone is lying except him.”

Alan Jackson, defending, suggested to the jury that if they looked at the evidence dispassionately they would recognise that the Crown’s case “fell short” of the standard beyond reasonable doubt. He said his client applied himself to a job he had fallen into by chance and that, if anything, he was a “soft touch” who allowed himself to be placed in a position where he was open to allegations.

The lawyer accepted Mr Lang had pushed boundaries by buying cigarettes for youngsters in his care, picking them up in his car and communicating with them via his mobile phone but he added: “He has been naive, immature in the way he has gone about matters but he is not guilty of these offences.”

Mr Jackson added: “His life has been on hold for a year. A proper verdict can not change that but it can give him a fresh start.” But that did not convince the jury who found Lang guilty of sexual offences against all three girls.

Remanding Lang in custody, Sheriff Simon Pender placed him on the sex offenders’ register and adjourned the case until December 3 to allow time for the preparation of a social work enquiry report and a psychological report including a risk assessment.

TEXT MESSAGE THAT SEALED LANG’S FATE: PAUL Lang’s predatory ways came to light when two female colleagues at the West Dumbartonshire Council facility discovered worrying text messages on a mobile phone belonging to one of the girls he was later accused of assaulting.

Giving evidence, the women described how they were immediately alarmed and suspicious about the nature of the text, all the more so because Lang was no longer working at the unit when it was sent to the girl from his personal number.

They raised the matter with their superiors which triggered an investigation that led to Lang being suspended from a job he claimed to love and which he had held since 2008. As a consequence of that the allegations involving the six-year-old emerged.

Devious Lang, though, insisted he was not responsible and that all three victims were liars. However, the jury chose to believe the evidence of the youngsters, including the six-year-old who was forced to endure a distressing two days in court recounting her experience.

Lang, who had never worked in child care until he was recruited by West Dunbartonshire Council, also gave evidence and admitted to the jury that he had broken certain boundaries by giving the youngsters at the unit cigarettes and acting as a taxi service for them even when he wasn’t on duty.

He also accepted having mobile phone numbers in his personal handset, even though it was strictly forbidden, as well as having a habit of making sexually inappropriate remarks and jokes.

The former lorry driver and taxi driver claimed it was all part of a strategy to win over the youngsters and make them feel comfortable but he insisted he had never acted in a sexual way towards any of them — a claim the jury rejected.

THE CHARGES PAUL Lang, of Halley Place, Yoker, was convicted of sexually assaulting a six-year-old at a house in Drumchapel in September last year. The jury also found Lang guilty of attempting to kiss the face and touch the leg of a 15-year-old girl, who was a resident at the unit, as well as making indecent sexual remarks towards her.

He was also convicted of sexually assaulting the same girl on two separate occasions at Dumbarton Road, Anniesland, and at an unknown street in Yoker, between September 1, 2011, and March 1, 2012. He was found guilty of engaging in sexual activity with another girl at the care unit and at Old Kilpatrick train station between January 1 and September 3 last year.