February 2021

Cowgate pervert facing jail after being caught with sickening child abuse images

A paedophile is facing spending time behind bars after he was caught with a sickening stash of child abuse images.

Simon Boustead’s vile collection, amassed over a nine-year period, was discovered on his electronic devices when they were seized by police from his Newcastle home.

A court heard that some of the pictures were category A, which are the most serious kind and involve penetrative sexual activity.

Category B and C photos were also found.

Boustead, of Birling Place, in Cowgate, was arrested and appeared at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday to plead guilty to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child.

Prosecutor, Cheryl Ford, said the images were downloaded between July 31 2009 and June 26 2018.

She added: “This is a case whereby the defendant has had possession of class A, B and C images, which were found upon devices seized from him by the police.

“The Crown would say that this is not suitable for sentence in the magistrates’ court.

“The starting point for category A images is one year in custody.

Magistrates agreed and released Boustead on unconditional bail to next appear at Newcastle Crown Court on March 25. They also ordered the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

In the meantime, Boustead must visit his local police station to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.

December 2019

Scots beast who physically and sexually abused young girls and their mothers in reign of terror caged

A Scottish hotel worker who physically and sexually assaulted young girls and their mothers in a reign of terror has been caged for six years.

Mark Campbell, 39 from Edinburgh was convicted of abusing three youngsters aged between three and 13 when they were in his care.

He was also found guilty of and physically and sexually assaulting their mothers in a relentless campaign of domestic abuse.

Defence counsel David Nicholson told the High Court at Livingston that, despite the verdicts of the jury, the 39-year-old hotel worker continued to deny committing the offences.

Despite that, he said Campbell accepted the verdicts 

The jury earlier convicted Campbell of four sexual assaults, three physical assaults and one charge of lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards a nine-year-old girl.

Advocate depute Jim Keegan said in his closing remarks at the trial that the young victims had “painted a picture” of “predatory, opportunist sexual assaults” on them over a period of years.

He said there had been a sexual assault on a mum and her two young children, when the youngsters were both under 10, and violence against the woman’s son.

One of the victims said Campbell had frequent temper tantrums, used bad language and exhibited controlling behaviour.

Another gave evidence that he had used similar abusive behaviour towards a second woman and her daughter.

When her nine-year-old disclosed that Campbell had been sexually touching her she confronted him. He denied it – and the abuse stopped for a while.

However, the girl told the jury, he regularly abused her for about a year, much longer than she originally admitted to her mum.

Another victim said he sexually abused her for almost a year, getting into her bed and putting his hand down her pants

She said he took her hand and put it on his penis, and when she tried to remove it he held it and prevented her from doing so. Once on a couch in the living room he tried to kiss her on the mouth.

One of the girls said her sister tried to avoid the accused trying to cuddle her when she was older. She confronted Campbell and told him he was a “paedo”. He called her a liar.

After a gap of three years Campbell started abusing another young girl, again when he was in a position of trust.

Passing sentence, Judge Lord Tyre told Campbell he had been found guilty of a “serious catalogue of offending” which included a course of conduct of sexual assaults on young girls aged between three and 13 years old.

The judge imposed prison terms totalling six years on the eight charges and told Campbell he would be subject to supervision on licence for a further two years following his release “to protect women and children from serious harm”.

He also told Campbell his name would remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

March 2021

Edinburgh OAP sexually assaulted three victims

A paedophile pensioner has been jailed after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting three children – including girls aged just six and eight-years-old

John Sands, a 78-year-old great-grandad attacked the schoolgirls at his home in Portobello over a 20 year period.

He targeted the youngest victim by touching her on the body and genitals and attempting to induce her to touch his penis just after her sixth birthday.

February 2021

Edinburgh paedo OAP guilty of sexually assaulting three kids – including girls aged 6 and 8

A pervert pensioner is facing a lengthy jail sentence after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting three children – including girls aged just six and eight-years-old.

John Sands, 78, attacked the youngsters between 1997 and 2017 at an address in Portobello, Edinburgh.

He subjected one girl to six years of grotesque abuse from 2011 onwards including lying on top of her, pinning her to a bed and rubbing his body against her.

The sick OAP also assaulted a second girl when she was eight-years-old by touching her inappropriately on various occasions at his home between 1997 and 1999.

He also attacked a third girl, when she was just 14, by rubbing her leg and touching her over her clothing on occasions between 1997 and 1999.

Sands denied the allegations but was found guilty of four sexual offences against the girls following a four day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week.

One victim said: “We can’t be called liars any more.

“We held our heads high while others stuck by him.

“Shame on you all.

“It’s been two and a half years of pure hell but I’m glad justice has been done.

“The victims have good hearts and the jury saw this.”

Sheriff John Mundy deferred sentence on the pensioner to March 9 for social work reports.

Sands was released on bail.

January 2021

Edinburgh paedophile caught with images of babies being abused

A paedophile who was caught with nearly 1000 horrific child abuse images – including newborn babies being sexually attacked – has been jailed.

Depraved Reid was also found to have collected vile pornographic videos depicting children being forced to engage in sexual activity with animals when police raided his Edinburgh home last year.

March 2021

Pervert carer snatched images of schoolgirls in Edinburgh swimming pool changing room

A pervert carer who snatched images of two young girls while they were dressing in a swimming pool cubicle has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years.

The girls, aged just eight and nine-years-old, were targeted by Miller after they had finished swimming lessons with their classmates at Portobello Swim Centre in Edinburgh.

January 2021

Edinburgh carer took pictures of two schoolgirls at Portobello swimming centre

A pervert carer took pictures of two young schoolgirls while they were semi-naked in a swimming pool changing room.

Ryan Miller, 29, placed a mobile phone under the cubicle the two children were in and snatched images of them while they were partially clothed.

Miller targeted the youngsters, aged nine and eight, while they were on a primary school trip at Portobello Swim Centre in Edinburgh in 2019.

Miller then fled the swim centre after the children told a teacher and he had been challenged by a member of pool staff.

Police Scotland officers eventually traced him two days later where he claimed he had “dropped my phone” while in the cubicle.

But Miller would later confess to his girlfriend he was attracted to children and had attempted to snap pictures of the two young girls at the pool.

On Monday, Miller pled guilty to placing his phone under the cubicle where the two girls were changing and taking or attempting to take pictures of them and commit a breach of the peace when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Peter McCormack placed Miller on the Sex Offenders Register and deferred sentence for social work reports and restriction of liberty assessment to be prepared.

Prosecutor Jack Castor told the court Miller, from Joppa, Edinburgh, arrived at the capital swimming pool with the man he was a caring for at around 12.50pm on September 23, 2019.

The two young victims were part of a school group who were having swimming lessons at the pool and following their tuition the pair were changing together within a cubicle.

Mr Castor said: “Around 1.50pm the swimming lesson came to an end and all the children left the pool and made their way to the changing area.

“[The two girls] entered the same cubicle and began to change. They took off their swimming costumes and began to dress themselves.

“[One girl] observed a hand appearing from the foot of the neighbouring cubicle holding a mobile phone.

“She heard it making a noise which she associated with taking photos.

“On getting a fright [the girl] alighted from the cubicle and made her way to contact [a teaching assistant].

The fiscal said the second girl then “peered round the cubicle door” and saw Miller make his way from the area on his own.

The teaching assistant immediately alerted a swim centre supervisor who challenged Miller about the incident.

Miller shouted “I’m not doing this here” and left the centre before police arrived.

The fiscal added Miller was then arrested two days later and told officers “I know what this is about. It’s about when I dropped my phone the other day.”

Mr Castor added Miller had then told his partner “he had been filming children at a swimming pool” and that “he was attracted to children”.

The court was told the woman immediately ended her relationship with Miller that day.