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Category Archives: Isle of Bute

James Thomson – Rothesay

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

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November 2011

Pervert preyed on 5 girls

A pervert who preyed on a string of young girls during a reign of terror that lasted more than six years is today finally behind bars.

James Thomson, 61, targeted children as young as eight during a string of offences at an address and other locations in Greenock dating back to 2002.

He evaded trial for several years due to red tape surrounding the case, and health difficulties, but was finally brought to justice at Greenock Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

After a 12-day trial, a 15-strong jury found Thomson guilty by a majority verdict of five separate charges against five different girls, all aged between eight and 15.

The trial heard harrowing evidence from the victims, who described how Thomson befriended them through a relative before abusing each in turn.

One girl told how, aged 10, she had gone on a camping trip with the 61-year-old and another girl to Kilcreggan.

She sobbed as she told how Thomson placed his hand under her top and down her trousers as they lay in the tent.

Another victim told how she was inappropriately touched by Thomson while playing with friends within his then-home in Greenock’s Fancy Farm Road.

Thomson was also convicted by the jury of using lewd and libidinous behaviour towards a girl within a car park close to KFC at the Waterfront.

The girl, now 18, told how the paedophile stroked her thigh and neck before kissing her on the cheek as she sat terrified in a parked car close to the fast food takeaway.

The jury also found Thomson guilty of abusing a 13-year-old girl within his home by watching her while she was in a state of undress, as well as placing his hand under her T-shirt.

His final victim told how she was 15 when she driven to the back of a building in Eldon Street and abused by Thomson, who refused to let her leave the car.

He was convicted of detaining her against her will by grabbing her arm and repeatedly placing his hand on her thigh, putting his hand down her trousers and trying to unbutton her clothing.

Thomson was originally charged with 10 separate offences against nine girls but had four deleted during the course of the trial. A final charge involving lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards another 12-year-old was found not proven.

Thomson, who had moved from Fancy Farm Road to a house in High Street in Rothesay during the trial, was convicted of offences between 2 June 2002 and 31 October 2008.

Sheriff John Herald deferred sentence on the accused for background reports, with defence solicitor Aidan Gallagher’s motion for bail refused.

Sheriff Herald warned: “I take into account the number of charges and their nature. In my view, a custodial sentence is almost inevitable.” Thomson was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register with immediate effect and remanded in custody for the preparation of background reports until the end of the month.

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Shanan Rodger – Rothesay

15 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by Author in Isle of Bute

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March 2019

Bute pervert begged schoolgirl, 15, to send him bikini pic and told her he was ‘pitching a tent’ under his duvet

A Bute pervert begged a 15-year-old girl to send him snaps of her in a bikini and told her he was “pitching a tent” under his duvet.

Shanan Rodger, of the island’s main town Rothesay, also sent the schoolgirl indecent images and told her she made him “horny”.

The beast, 27, messaged her saying her could see part of her breast on a swimming trip, and he was “pitching a tent” in his bed.

Prosecutor Lindy Scaife told Greenock Sheriff Court: “The girl took that to mean that he had an erection.

“She exposed some of this to a school counsellor and then the police became involved. “The girl was reluctant to speak to the police about it, however, the accused was subsequently arrested and he made admissions regarding the messages.

“His position was that he was ‘just taking the mick’.”

Rodger of Ladeside Place, pleaded guilty to communicating indecently with the child for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification, or of humiliating, distressing or alarming her.

The offences took place between August 1 and September 18 last year.

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre told him: “It is important that children are protected from all forms of such activity. “It is important to ensure that any risk you pose is addressed to the greatest possible extent.”

The perv will be under supervision for three years and is required to complete 160 hours of unpaid work within nine months.

He must have no unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16 and must make any internet-enabled device available for inspection, and not not download any software which can erase his browsing history.

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Aaron Campbell – Rothesay

22 Friday Feb 2019

Posted by Author in Child Killer, Isle of Bute

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March 2019

Aaron Campbell, the 16-year-old who abducted, raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail on the Isle of Bute sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years.

The 16-year-old who raped and murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail has been sentenced to a ‘minimum’ of 27 years behind bars after he finally admitted his crime.

As he was led down to the cells, Alesha’s mother Georgina could be heard screaming: “f*****g rat,” “vile f*****g rat” and “f*****g disgusting”, after she heard Aaron Campbell had to “stop himself from laughing” during the murder trial.

During his trial, Aaron Campbell had repeatedly denied he abducted, raped and killed the six-year-old on the Isle of Bute last July.

But he admitted his offences to a psychologist preparing a report to the court ahead of his sentencing.

Judge Lord Matthews imposed a life sentence for the “brutal” murder.

He set the punishment part of the sentence, before Campbell can apply for parole, at 27 years.

Lord Matthews said Campbell’s crime had caused “revulsion and disbelief”.

He said Alesha had been violated and murdered and told Campbell he was a “cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual”.

The judge said the teenager had shown breathtaking arrogance during the trial and had failed to plead guilty despite overwhelming evidence against him.

He said he had shown “a staggering lack of remorse”.

“Not once did I detect a flicker of emotion from you,” he said.

Lord Matthews said it would be for others to decide if Campbell would ever be released and there was much work to be done before that could ever happen.

During his nine-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow last month, Campbell claimed he had never met his victim and lodged a special defence naming the 18-year-old girlfriend of Alesha’s father as the killer.

The judge said this was a “cruel travesty of the truth” and said the woman he blamed, Toni McLachlan, was “completely innocent”.

Campbell’s confession was contained in the criminal justice social report and the criminal psychologist’s report, which were prepared ahead of his sentencing.

Campbell’s defence QC, Brian McConnachie, said: “Clearly the most striking thing about both reports is the fact that in the reports Mr Campbell has admitted responsibility for the rape and murder.”

Mr McConnachie said background reports on Campbell highlighted a range of psychotic traits and expressed concerns about “sexually harmful behaviour”.

Alesha, from Airdrie in Lanarkshire, was just days into a holiday when she was abducted from her bed.

She was reported missing from her grandparents’ home on Ardbeg Road, near Rothesay, at 06:23 on 2 July last year.

Dozens of islanders joined the search for the child but at 08:54 her naked body was discovered in a wooded area in the grounds of the former Kyles Hydropathic Hotel.

A post-mortem examination later revealed she had suffered 117 injuries and died from significant pressure being applied to her face and neck.

Lord Matthews told Campbell: “You went into the house and then her bedroom, you removed her from there and took her to a secluded spot where you raped and murdered her in the most brutal fashion.

“It’s difficult to imagine the distress her family must have suffered.”

After the sentence was read out family members shouted “evil” and “beast” as Campbell was led down to the cells.

HMA v Aaron Campbell

At High Court in Glasgow today, 21 March 2019, Lord Matthews sentenced Aaron Campbell to detention without limit of time, with a punishment part of 27 years, after he was found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Alesha MacPhail.

On sentencing, Lord Matthews made the following statement in court:

“You were found guilty of the abduction, rape and murder of Alesha MacPhail, a 6 year old child.

Merely stating that fact is horrific enough but the circumstances surrounding these vile crimes and the manner of their commission have quite rightly aroused revulsion and disbelief that these sorts of things could happen.

Alesha had just arrived on Bute to spend a holiday with her father and grandparents and had gone to bed apparently safe in her own room. No doubt she was looking forward to what the next few weeks had in store.

Her father and his parents would have enjoyed every minute of it while her mother and her family would have been counting down the days till they saw her smiling face again.

Meanwhile you attended a party at your own home, consumed alcohol and then, on your account, to which I will return, went off in search of cannabis.

You went into the house and then her bedroom. You removed her from there and took her to a secluded spot where you violated and murdered her in the most brutal fashion. The details of that were revealed in the evidence and I do not intend to go over them again.

It is difficult to imagine the distress which her family must have suffered, not only when she went missing but when the awful news came in that she had been found dead.

That distress can only have been intensified, if that was possible, by their finding out the extent of what you did to her, not only in the weeks and months immediately afterwards but in the course of the trial.

I have read statements by her parents and grandparents in which they have tried to express their loss and the emptiness which greets them every day. Just as I know that no sentence which I can pass will alleviate their anguish, so I know that mere words are poor reflections of it.

The effect on the island community was profound. Many of them rallied round to help in the search and the effect on those who saw Alesha in the woods will be long lasting. I have never before seen a police officer almost break down in the witness box, so affected was he by the sight.

The contrast between them and you could not be more vivid.

Your attitude was clearly demonstrated by the evidence that you posted an image of yourself in a mirror while making a joke that you had found where the murderer was hiding. The arrogance and callousness of that is breathtaking.

Thanks to the dedication of the police and forensic scientists, ably assisted by members of the public, such as those who came forward when they found articles of your clothing on the shore, you were eventually brought to justice.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against you, you did not plead guilty but elected to go to trial. That was your right and I do not increase your sentence because of it.

However it is symptomatic of your staggering lack of remorse. Not once during the trial did I detect a flicker of emotion from you and that was also the experience of the professionals who interviewed you for the purposes of the reports, to which I will turn shortly.

Your defence was one of incrimination of a young woman Toni-Louise McLachlan and you gave evidence in support of it.

It was a cruel travesty of the truth which was understandably reported widely in the media and left her open to suspicion at the very least and quite possibly hatred, all of which was due to your perverted machinations.

I am very grateful to Mr McConnachie who today made it clear that she was completely innocent.

Mr McConnachie has said all that could be said on your behalf, entirely in keeping with the exemplary way the trial was conducted on both sides of the bar. All matters of fact which could reasonably be agreed were agreed and the issues were well focussed and laid before the jury.

As I said to the jury after they returned their verdict, Counsel do not make up defences but present the case on the basis of their instructions. It is obvious what your instructions were and your evidence was entirely in keeping with them, albeit it was a tissue of lies.

It does not go too far therefore when I say that I was shocked when I saw the contents of the Criminal Justice Social Work report and the report from Dr Macpherson, the consultant forensic clinical psychologist.

Each of these reports contains clear admissions by you of your guilt.

Not only that, and this is a terrible thing to say of one so young, but they paint a clear picture of a cold, callous, calculating, remorseless and dangerous individual.

I do not intend to go into every detail of the reports or of your admissions since much of it would, I think, be distressing and much of it merely confirms some of the evidence which was led. However, I think it right that the public, and more particularly her family, be given some flavour of the contents.

Dr Macpherson noted that you presented your account in a matter-of-fact manner notable for the absence of any emotions. He recorded that you told him that in the 12 months prior to the murder you entertained thoughts of “doing something excessive”, including rape.

Your account in brief was that you had been drinking but wanted cannabis and decided to break into the house to get some. You took a kitchen knife because you wanted to protect yourself but having gained entry you left the house and disposed of it. You returned to the house and entered Alesha’s bedroom.

Amongst other things Dr Macpherson records that you told him that you had consumed one and a half bottles of wine between 8pm and 8.30 pm but that you did not feel intoxicated, although you told the social worker that you still felt the effects of it. You were not under the influence of any illicit substances.

He records that when you saw Alesha your reaction, according to you, was as follows:

“… A moment of opportunity… At any other time in life, murder wouldn’t have been the conclusion. If I was a year younger I don’t think I would have done it. … All I thought about was killing her once I saw her.

You told both Dr Macpherson and the social worker in some detail what you did.

You said that Alesha was drowsy and became a bit more awake when you went outside. At one point she asked who you were and where you were going. You said you were a friend of her father’s and that you were taking her home.

You gave her your top because she was cold. I will not go into the horrific and cold blooded details of what you said you did to her but you explained that after you murdered Alesha you threw your bloodstained clothing into the sea, had a shower and then went back where you left her to retrieve your phone.

Dr Macpherson reports that you told him that over the next few days you were totally unconcerned other than to be mildly amused that the Police had not arrested you.

Two other aspects of his report are worth mentioning.

The first is that you told him that at points during the trial it took everything to stop you laughing and you had to zip your mouth

The second is that you volunteered that you were quite satisfied with the murder.

According to all of the reports, you are not suffering from any mental health disorder and indeed you are not suffering from any syndrome or disorder of any kind.

On the other hand, you are completely lacking in victim empathy, the social worker noting your cold, calculating manner.

The only sentence I can impose on you is detention without limit of time. In addition you will be subject to the notification provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for an indefinite period.

However, I also have to specify a period which must pass before you can apply for release on parole. Whether you will ever be released will be for others to determine but as matters stand a lot of work will have to be done to change you before that could be considered. It may even be impossible.

The period I select is known as the punishment part of the sentence and its purpose is to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. The Parole Board will deal in due course with the protection of the public.

I have taken account of the circumstances of the offences, the contents of the reports and everything said on your behalf.

I am conscious that you are a child. In sentencing children it has to be borne in mind that they are not yet fully rounded, mature human beings. A child’s best interests are a primary consideration and the desirability of the child’s reintegration into society must also be taken into account.

However, the weight to be given to the various sentencing considerations will depend on a number of factors including the age of the child and all the circumstances of the case.

The nature of these appalling offences and what I have read in the reports make it clear to me that reintegration and rehabilitation, while these are important considerations, are remote possibilities and neither your best interests nor anyone else’s will be served by a speedy return to the community.

Nonetheless, the punishment part will not be as long as it would have been had you been an adult.

Your sentence will run from 6 July 2018. You will be detained without limit of time and I fix the punishment part at 27 years.”

February 2019

Alesha MacPhail murder: Aaron Campbell named as 16-year-old boy who killed and raped girl

The teenage boy convicted of the rape and murder of six-year-old Alesha MacPhail has been named in court as Aaron Campbell.

Campbell, 16, had been afforded the statutory anonymity given to those under the age of 18 subject to criminal proceedings during his trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

However, following his conviction earlier this week for abducting, sexually assaulting and killing Alesha, Judge Lord Matthews ruled it was in the public interest to lift the ban on naming the teenager.

Campbell, from Ardbeg, Isle of Bute, was told by the judge during a hearing on Friday the case was one of the “wickedest, most evil crimes” ever heard at the court.

He had abducted Alesha in July last year, snatching her from a bedroom at her grandparents’ house on the island, where she had been staying during the school summer holidays.

Her naked body was discovered in a nearby woodland a day later, having been subjected to a total of 117 injuries, some of which were described as “catastrophic”.

During the course of the trial, a forensic scientist told the court DNA matching Campbell’s was found on Alesha’s body and clothes, concluding there was a billion-to-one chance the sample was not his.

Detectives later found the defendant’s phone had been used to Google the phrase “how do police find DNA” in the days after the murder.

However, the teenager lodged a special defence, blaming Toni McLachlan, the partner of Alesha’s father, Robert, for the murder.

He claimed Ms McLachlan had planted the DNA evidence against him, a story prosecutors dismissed as a “pack of lies”.

Ms McLachlan denied responsibility, saying it felt “horrible” to be accused of the schoolgirl’s murder and telling the court she “loved her to pieces”.

Judge Lord Matthews said it was in part the allegations Campbell had made against Ms McLachlan, along with the extreme nature of the crime, that led him to lift restrictions preventing reporting of the teenager’s name.

Representing Scottish media organisations, Anthony Graham QC told the court that the claims had been a “substantial attempt to pervert the course of justice”.

“[Ms McLachlan] enjoyed no statutory protection and was named and photographed and had her photographs published,” Mr Graham said.

“[Campbell] has introduced the issue of sexual involvement with [her]. By the very nature of that defence and by finding him party to that defence, the panel has introduced to the trial adult themes.”

He added it would be “naïve” to think the teenager’s identity was not already well known on Bute and at Polmont Young Offenders Institute, where he will be detained until he is 21.

No appeal against the request to strip Campbell of his anonymity was lodged by his defence, Brian McConnachie QC, but the barrister did warn Campbell was “at risk of attack” during his sentence.

Prosecutor Iain McSporran QC said he hoped the guilty verdict would remove any doubt Ms McLachlan could have been involved in the killing.

After the trial, the schoolgirl’s family on both her mother and her father’s sides spoke of their heartbreak at losing Alesha in statements released through Police Scotland.

Her mother, Georgina Lochrane, said: “Words cannot express just how devastated I am to have lost my beautiful, happy, smiley wee girl.

“I am glad that the boy who did this has finally been brought to justice and that he will not be able to inflict the pain on another family that he has done to mine.”

A statement issued by the MacPhail family said: “We can’t believe that we will never see our wee angel Alesha again. We miss her so much.

“We hope that the boy who took her from us is jailed for a long time because of what he has done to our family.”

Campbell is due to be sentenced on 21 March.

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Zanythe Harrison – Isle of Bute/Leicester/Greenock

09 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by Author in Female Abuser, Isle of Bute, Lowlands, Renfrewshire

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January 2009

Mum groomed sex show girl… but goes free

Zanythe Harrison

A MUM-of-four who groomed a 13-year-old girl to perform live sex shows on the internet has escaped a jail term.

Former ballet dancer Zanythe Harrison, 28, got just three years’ probation for directing the vile webcam displays for paedophiles across the globe.

Twisted Harrison gave the schoolgirl access to a computer, positioned the camera, provided her costumes and offered her tips on how to look seductive as she performed sex acts.

When Harrison herself told cops what was going on, she claimed a mystery man was behind the plot – and was shocked when she was charged, Greenock Sheriff Court heard.

But Sheriff Vincent Canavan said that her part in informing police was one reason he would not send her to prison.

He said: “I have decided at this time not to jail the accused because of her previous good character, her genuine regret and disgust and her role in telling the police and enabling these matters to be brought to light and her assistance to the police.”

But as he ordered her to go on the sex offenders’ register, he warned her if she stepped out of line again, it was “inevitable a substantial jail sentence will follow as night follows day”.

The webcam shows took place in a house in Rothesay, on the holiday island of Bute, between October and November 2006.

Harrison, of Greenock, admitted she told her victim about an adult website and encouraged her to perform. But her lawyer Tony Lenaghan insisted a man from England dubbed Mr X was the main culprit.

He said: “He is the driving force behind the escalation of matters.

“At the start she simply thinks she has found a friend in this chap.”

He described Mr X as a “charming” and manipulative man who had gained the confidence of the accused, the victim’s mother and the victim.

It is understood Mr X lured the victim into taking part by promising her gifts of Playboy merchandise.

The court heard Harrison made no cash and gained no sexual gratification from the web shows.

When Harrison expressed concern that the set-up was getting out of hand, she was allegedly subjected to terrifying threats. The court heard Harrison had tried to warn the victim’s mum about Mr X – but she refused to believe the claims.

Harrison admitted facilitating the vile crime but charges specifying the girl’s sex acts were dropped.

The victim’s mother, who moved to Scotland with her family to escape crime in their English home town, broke down in tears and refused to comment after sentencing.

November 2008

Ballet dancer grooms girl, 14, for sex acts on webcam

A BALLET dancer has admitted grooming a 14-year-old schoolgirl to perform webcam sex shows for paedophiles all over the world

Zanythe Harrison, 28 – a mother of four – directed the sick shows in a flat on a holiday island.

And the victim’s mother, who brought her family to Scotland to escape crime in their former home town, fears Harrison used her dancing background to weasel her way into her daughter’s life.

The girl was plied with drink and made to perform sexually explicit shows by dancer Harrison while paedophiles watched on their webcams.

Harrison has been put on the sex offenders’ register while she awaits sentencing next month.

But she has been allowed to keep her two primary schoolgirl daughters and baby boy as well as her partner’s son from a previous relationship.

When Harrison admitted the charge last week, charges specifying the sex acts the girl was made to perform were dropped.

The victim’s mother said last night: “We moved because I feared for my family because all these serious crimes were rife in our neighbourhood in England.

“We came to Scotland for peace and security. And we thought we had found a safe haven.

“I can’t believe how wrong we were or how any woman, especially someone with young daughters herself, could exploit an innocent young girl in this way.

“This came to light two years ago and it has taken all that time for the case finally to reach a stage where she has admitted her guilt.

“These two years have been a nightmare formy daughter. She is a bright girl.

She wants to be a forensic scientist but her schooling has suffered terribly.”

Harrison claims she was coerced into directing the sick sex shows in a flat in Rothesay, Isle of Bute, by an unnamed paedophile from Essex.

But the girl’s mum rejected that, saying: “I know that Harrison is trying to put the blame on this man saying she was under his influence.

“But she knew exactly what she was doing. I cannot put into words what I feel about this woman. I am quite a sociable person, as are my girls, and I became friendly with a woman who introduced me to Zanythe Harrison, who weasled herway into my 14-year-old’s trust.

“To be honest, I don’t know how this all started but I have been in Harrison’s flat myself and she had pictures of herself on the wall performing ballet.

“I don’t know if she used that as a way of getting to my daughter.

“When my 14-year-old was interviewed by CID over a three-day period, she asked that I was not to be present because she was so embarrassed about everything.

“The only thing she has told me is that she was plied with alcohol. But she still cannot speak about anything else. It is still so raw for her.

“It is only in the past week, for instance, that we have gone back on the internet.

“There are so many ways that what this woman has done still continues to affect our lives.”

On the Friends Reunited website, Harrison, originally from Leicester, says she attended the Urdang Academy in London – which teaches ballet – between 1996 and 1998.

She also claims to have served in the Army between 1999 and 2002.

Harrison says on her most recent entry on the Facebook social networking site: “Currently living in bonnie Scotland….not that there’s owt bonnie about it lol!!!.

“I live with my partner Tony and my two daughters and my stepson.

“I’ve been up here now for three years and it’s driving me mad, full of blinkin scots lol….moving to Northern Ireland in the very near future…also five months pregnant with my 3rd….” She gave birth to a baby boy in May.

Her victim’s mother said: “I find it incredible someone capable of doing what she did is allowed to bring up kids.”

At Greenock Sheriff Court last week, Harrison admitted contravening the Protection of Children and Sexual Offences, Scotland Act 2005.

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