September 1999

SEX BEAST GETS LIFE – Pervert struck days after being freed

A PAEDOPHILE who molested four girls within days of being freed from prison was yesterday sentenced to life. 

Gerald Magee, 30, who once served five years for a sex attack, was released from Glasgow’s Barlinnie jail on March 30 this year. 

He started work as a security guard at a building site in Blackburn, West Lothian, on April 2. 

And the first offence, involving a 12-year-old girl, took place the following day in a cabin on the site. 

Several days later, at another building site in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, he committed offences against three girls – two aged nine and one 10-year-old. 

Magee, of Kyle Street, in Glasgow centre, was arrested and admitted to police that he was sexually attracted to young girls. 

He first pleaded guilty to the charges at Airdrie Sheriff Court. 

But the maximum jail term which can be imposed at sheriff courts is three years and Sheriff Ian Simpson decided he should face a longer sentence. 

He was sent to the High Court in Edinburgh where judge Lady Cosgrove yesterday handed down the life sentence. 

Magee will be eligible for parole in two-and-a-half years but because he can only be freed on licence from a life sentence, he could be sent back to jail to finish his life term if he offends again after his release. 

Magee is believed to be the first person in Scotland to get life after being sent to the High Court by a sheriff. 

Lesley Irving, of Scottish Women’s Aid, welcomed the decision and said: “This sheriff has understood the seriousness of the situation and has done exactly the right thing. 

“Obviously, he took heed of the gravity of the crime and the need to protect the community.”