Two arrests as Police Scotland investigate 130 reports of child sex abuse in football
Football has been rocked by child sex abuse revelations
and 130 reports have been made in Scottish football
BY PAUL WARD
Police Scotland are investigating 130 reports of child sexual abuse in football, with two arrests made.
The sport has been rocked by claims from former players across the UK that they were abused by people in positions of authority and Police Scotland launched a major inquiry into non-recent child abuse in football at the end of last year.
Officers have now received 130 reports but believe there will be more to come.
A "significant number of perpetrators" have been identified, the force said, with two men arrested in Aberdeen and Paisley over incidents.
Police Scotland gave no further information on the arrests.
A number of professional clubs have started internal investigations while the SFA is setting up an independent review into allegations across the game in Scotland.
A chair is expected to be appointed by February, with work then starting immediately.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Taylor, of the national child abuse investigation unit, said: "Our ongoing investigation into non-recent child abuse in football has to date received 130 reports.
"It is difficult to estimate the true scale of non-recent child sexual abuse in football but we have identified a significant number of perpetrators and victims throughout football and across Scotland, and we believe there are more people who may wish to report.
"Child abuse is incredibly difficult for people to revisit and to talk about. Our officers are highly specialist (specialized?) and are trained to deal with all reports sensitively.
"We would ask anyone who has been the victim of abuse or has information about potential abuse to contact us.
"We will listen and we will investigate, and our first priority will be to ensure that there are no children at risk now.
"If you have suffered sexual abuse, or if you can assist this investigation or you know anyone who may have been a victim, then please call Police Scotland on 101. Or you can call the NSPCC helpline on 0800 2642."
Former Dundee United footballers David Goodwillie and David Robertson judged to be rapists and ordered to pay £100,000 in damages
David Goodwillie and his former teammate David Robertson have to pay £100,000 by a judge
BY DAVE FINLAY
David Goodwillie and, right, his accuser Denise Clair (Photo: CIARAN DONNELLY)
A former Scotland international footballer and his ex-teammate were ruled to be rapists and ordered to pay £100,000 damages today despite never facing a criminal trial.
Denise Clair, who was left "devastated" by a Crown decision not to prosecute, sued striker David Goodwillie and his then Dundee United colleague David Robertson claiming that they raped her at a flat in Armadale, in West Lothian, after a night out in nearby Bathgate.
The woman said she could not remember what had happened since she was in a Bathgate bar until she woke up in the strange flat the following morning.
The 30-year-old originally sought £500,000 in compensation, but damages were later agreed at £100,000 in the civil action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
The woman maintained that she was incapable of giving free agreement to sex because of her alcohol consumption, but Goodwillie, who now plays with Plymouth Argyle, and Robertson claimed that intercourse had been consensual.
David Goodwillie and David Robertson during their time at Dundee United (Photo: SNS)
The judges thoughts
A judge said: "Having carefully examined and scrutinised the whole evidence in the case, I find the evidence of the pursuer (the woman) to be cogent, persuasive and compelling."
Lord Armstrong said: "In the result, therefore, I find that in the early hours of Sunday January2 2011, at the flat in Greig Crescent, Armadale, both defenders (the footballers) took advantage of the pursuer when she was vulnerable through an excessive intake of alcohol and, because her cognitive functioning and decision making processes were so impaired, was incapable of giving meaningful consent; and that they each raped her."
The judge said that he found neither Goodwillie nor Robertson to be credible or reliable on the issue of whether they had a reasonable or honest belief that she was consenting.
He rejected evidence relied on by the players that the woman was not particularly affected by alcohol and was no more drunk than anyone else in the company they had been in that night.
Lord Armstrong said there was evidence of flirtation between the woman and Robertson earlier in the evening, but the judge added: "The mere fact of sexual attraction does not preclude rape."
Lord Armstrong said that prior to the incident the woman had enjoyed life, but her life changed following the decision not to proceed with a prosecution. She was told by Crown Office in July that year that they were not going ahead with criminal proceedings.
Lord Armstrong said: "She found that decision difficult to understand and had felt that she had not been believed."
"She felt that her life had been destroyed by something which had happened although, because of her lack of memory, she was not fully aware of what it was that had caused that effect," he said.
She had experienced suicidal thoughts and it was only last year that she felt comfortable forming an intimate relationship again.
Lord Armstrong said: "She maintained emphatically that she would never voluntarily have had sexual intercourse with two men simultaneously, and that she had never ever done that before. As she put it, she would never ever agree to do that."
The judge said the woman's memory loss was best explained by "the phenomenon of alcoholic blackout".
He said that on the basis of expert evidence, eyewitness testimony and forensic findings of the woman's blood alcohol level he held that during the period the woman was in the flat she "lacked the level of cognitive functioning necessary to make reasoned decisions and consequently lacked the ability to give meaningful consent by free agreement".
It was only in the weeks after the rape that the woman knew with certainty that intercourse had taken place after DNA evidence was obtained from swabs taken from her.
What Denise remembers
She said that she had found herself naked and in pain after the incident at a flat in Greig Crescent, in nearby Armadale.
She said she had gone out for the evening for a drink with a friend on New Year's Day in 2011 but had no recollection of leaving a pub for a nightclub in Bathgate.
She remembered waking the next morning in strange surroundings and said: "I seemed to be running about the house in a panic. I ran into every single room to see if I could make sense of my surroundings."
Her counsel, Simon Di Rollo QC, asked her what she was wearing and she replied: "Nothing. I was naked, but I didn't realise that until I was in the kitchen."
She said: "I just felt sore. I felt sore inside as if something had happened to me, but I couldn't say what it was. I felt a lot of pain inside."
She saw two women and asked where she was and was told it was Greig Crescent and that she was in Armadale.
The woman said she found articles of her clothing in the flat "stuffed down" the side of a bed. She added: "My pants were never recovered."
Before the rape she had gone out with a friend to The James Young bar in Bathgate drinking Jack Daniels and coke, before moving onto the Glenmavis Tavern, known as Smiths, where Robertson was. She later went on to Chalmers nightclub but had no recollection of it and no memory of anything significant until the following morning.
Goodwillie had gone to join Robertson in Bathgate after the pair had played for Dundee United against Aberdeen on January 1 during which he scored an equaliser. He maintained that he did not think the woman was too drunk to consent to sex.
But a security firm employee working at the nightclub told the court that the woman was in need of an ambulance.
Gayle McGregor said: "She wasn't in control of herself. Her eyes were rolling in her head. She couldn't stand up straight. She couldn't speak to me properly. She wasn't compos mentis."
In the action it was said the players offered her a lift home in a taxi, but the driver was requested to drop all three at the flat in Armadale.
Career consequences
Goodwillie is currently signed by English outfit Plymouth Argyle while Robertson is with Cowdenbeath FC. Both clubs said the players would not be selected to play for the time being.
A spokesman for Plymouth Argyle said: “We note today’s judgment from the Court of Session in Edinburgh regarding David Goodwillie. “We await the full report, which we will consider in detail before making any comment. “Until such time, David Goodwillie will not be selected to play for Plymouth Argyle.”
A spokesman for Cowdenbeath FC said: “We are now aware of today’s Court judgement regarding David Robertson. At present, we can make no further comment until we have the full details available for us to consider and review. “In the interim, David Robertson will not be considered for selection by Cowdenbeath FC.
Twisted Scottish coach to be booted out Australia after tricking boys into sending him naked selfies
Stephen Gunn pretended to be a woman to lure the kids into his trap and he is now to be deported after being caught with 446 child porn images
BY ALAN MCEWEN
A twisted Scots football coach jailed for tricking teenage boys into sending him naked selfies is being deported from Australia.
Stephen Gunn admitted posing as a woman called Sarah to lure young players into sending nude photos over 18 months.
The 24-year-old was sentenced to three years for child porn offences and has already served 250 days since his arrest.
Australian authorities will send Gunn, who lived in Edinburgh, back to Scotland after he pleaded guilty at Brisbane District Court yesterday.
Pervert football coach Stephen Gunn is to be deported back to Scotland from Australia
The sex predator, who admitted 31 charges, targeted youngsters aged 14 to 17.
According to his Facebook page, Gunn, an ex-student at Edinburgh’s Telford College, moved to Brisbane in 2014.
A former pupil at Queensferry High School, he’d earlier left his coaching role at a football and sports training programme in the capital.
Gunn was a coach at a Brisbane football club in 2014 when his offending started.
Pretending to be female online, he tricked eight boys into sending him dozens of images on social media platform Snapchat. Gunn used messaging app Kik to send child porn to an American teen who told him they were in “grade 10” at school.
The pervert, who lived on-site at the club, was busted after being sacked in mid-2015. When he returned his work laptop, the club secretary found child porn on it.
Police then discovered more than 446 child porn images and 11 videos on his six computer devices and USBs, including four considered of the “worst category”, portraying serious child abuse.
While officers searched his home, Gunn told them they wouldn’t find “any images of anyone under 18”.
Edinburgh's Telford College where Gunn previously studied
Crown prosecutor James Marxson said Gunn showed “a certain level of premeditation and planning” by “initiating” and “promoting” sexual exchanges via Snapchat and manipulating victims to send him selfies.
Gunn “catalogued” the images on USB sticks, a judge was told.
He tricked four boys, aged between 14 and 17, into sending pornographic selfies via Snapchat, and five into sending selfies in sexual poses.
Gunn admitted making child porn by taking screenshots of images sent to him by four victims, aged 14 to 15. He sent indecent images to three boys, aged 14 to 15.
The court heard Gunn was lonely at the time of offending and was struggling to come to terms with his bisexuality.
Gunn wrote a letter apologising for his behaviour, saying: “Not a day goes by that I do not regret one hundred per cent of my actions.”
Judge Julie Ryrie said he had inflicted a “clear breach of trust”.
Gunn’s work visa was cancelled and he has been in immigration detention since last month. He served eight months on remand, and will be deported after serving about nine months.
Gunn had faced a maximum sentence of 15 years for the most serious charge.
Sex crime convictions in Scotland hit record high as number of offenders soar 53% in five years
The number of people convicted is now 53 per cent higher than in 2010/11 with an increase in child porn prosecutions
BY CATRIONA WEBSTER
A total of 1,156 people were convicted of sex crimes in 2015/16
A total of 1,156 people were convicted of such crimes in 2015/16, up slightly from 1,152 the previous year and a record high.
After four consecutive annual rises, the figure is now 53% higher than in 2010/11.
Statisticians attribute the longer term rise to an increase in prosecutions for child pornography offences as well as the increased confidence of victims to report rape and sexual assaults.
However the number of convictions for rape and attempted rape fell by 16% to 104, reflecting a 20% drop in the number of prosecutions for these crimes.
A total of 12,374 people were convicted of domestic abuse, compared to 8,566 in 2010-11 and a high of 12,440 in 2014-15.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said tackling domestic abuse is a "key priority" for the Scottish Government.
He added: I will shortly introduce to Parliament legislation creating a new criminal offence of domestic abuse that will include psychological abuse, which can be difficult to deal with under existing laws.
"Sexual offences are often the most complex and challenging to prosecute, partly due to challenges around evidence, so it is encouraging that as more people come forward to report these crimes, the police and the Crown are securing convictions in the courts."
Lord Advocate James Wolffe (Photo: Getty)
Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said the Crown Office would continue to take a "firm and rigorous prosecutorial approach" to domestic abuse.
He said: "The number of convictions shows that the approach which we take, which involves prosecutors working with colleagues across the criminal justice system, is working."
Depraved Maybole paedophile hoarded hundreds of sick images of children being raped and abused
SICK Kenneth Campbell, 45, had 797 explicit pictures and 169 moving images on a computer in his living room which was raided by police
BY SARAH HILLEY
The paedophile had downloaded hundreds of explicit images of children (Photo: Pixabay)
Kenneth Campbell, 45, had 797 sick pictures and 169 moving images on a computer in his living room.
3 y/o raped by dad
Many were of the most serious category A – with one showing a three-year-old girl being raped by someone called ‘Dad’. Another showed a little boy being abused.
Police stormed his home in Maybole at 9.25am in December 2015 and seized the computer. He was taken to Ayr police office after they discovered the evil stash.
Depute fiscal Neva Houston told Ayr Sheriff Court this week: “During the police interview, he admitted downloading indecent images of children.”
Worst Sadist category
Computer forensic experts found 204 still pictures and 75 moving images graded as the worst sadist category along with hundreds of other indecent images.
The Maybole factory worker appeared in court on Tuesday.
Lawyer Peter Lockhart said Campbell expressed “relief that the matter had been detected”.
“He wanted to bring the matter to a head,” the court was told.
The solicitor also said his client “feared retribution and was concerned for his safety”.
He told the court Campbell gave up work after his father was diagnosed with cancer and receiving chemotherapy.
Mr Lockhart said his unmarried client started viewing pornography and “matters escalated”.
This supports my theory that pornography often leads to child porn and child porn escalates over time to include younger and younger children and ever-increasing violence. Sin is progressive!
Describing Campbell’s background, he said: “He disclosed he had been sexually abused as a child but not by a family member.”
Mr Lockhart continued: “He accepts the damage this type of offence does to vulnerable children and the rightful revulsion society feels for these offences.”
He said his client would move home but probably stay in Ayrshire.
Campbell admitted taking or permitting to be taken or making indecent pseudo or pseudo photographs of children. He also pled guilty to failing to attend court in August last year.
He was due to be sentenced this week.
Vile mechanic who raped primary school girl in Auchinleck jailed for 11 years
THE COURT heard how tyre fitter Greig had accused all three women of lying and still maintained his innocence despite the verdict.
BY AYRSHIRE POST
John Greig, 51, outside the High Court in Glasgow (Photo: Spindrift)
A mechanic who raped a primary school girl and a woman was today jailed for 11 years.
John Greig, 51, from Auchinleck, was also convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of attempting to rape another schoolgirl.
Judge Lord Matthews told Greig: “You recognise that the jury has convicted you of very serious offences. You sexually abused two young girls and on one occasion raped one of them.
“You also raped a woman. The public expects these matters to be dealt with in a severe manner.”
Defence counsel Susan Duff told the court that Greig still maintains his innocence, but added: “He realise he has to accept the verdict of the jury.”
Tyre fitter Greig accused all three women of lying and claimed the schoolgirl he raped went to the police years later because she was annoyed because he refused to let her drive his Subaru Impreza.
In evidence, Greig said of his victim: “She's a bit of a poser and wanted to pose in it. She asked to get it and I said no and I'm here in the High Court. I just can't believe they are doing this to me. I feel embarrassed and degraded. It is as if they are trying to destroy me.”
He said that he never touched either of the schoolgirls and claimed that sex with the woman was consensual.
Prosecutor Mark McGuire asked Greig: “Is your explanation for this woman's allegations that you would not let her have your car,” and he replied: “Yes.”
Mr McGuire added: “You say all three women are liars. You must be the unluckiest man in the world,” and Greig replied: “I must be.”
Greig was found guilty of raping the schoolgirl when she was aged between 9 and 11.
He was also found guilty of sexually abusing her and attempting to rape another schoolgirl when she was aged between 9 and 12.
Greig was also convicted of raping a woman over a nine-year period when she was aged between 28 and 37.
The offences were committed in Ayrshire between 1983 and 2003.
The first victim came forward to the police in 2015 to claim Greig had repeatedly tried to rape her when she was a child.
The schoolgirl he raped, said nothing then, but went to the police and gave a statement in 2015.
Greig showed no emotion as he was led away to begin his sentence. He has been placed on the sex offenders' register.
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