A convicted sex offender who was handed an extended eight-year sentence after assaulting an 11-year-old schoolboy has appealed against both his conviction and the sentence.
The Appeals Court in Edinburgh has confirmed that lawyers acting for Connor Tait, 22, who was jailed for four years by Sheriff Richard Davidson with an extended period of four years on licence, have lodged an application for an appeal.
However, Tait is still behind bars and a spokesman for the Appeals Court confirmed he has not been freed on interim liberation.
Judges will decide whether or not to grant Tait leave to appeal, and if the application is successful, a bail application could be made by his legal team in Edinburgh.
Tait was jailed by Sheriff Davidson last month after being found guilty after trial at Dundee Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting the boy, who was out playing football with his pal in Dundee in July last year.
His terrified young friend ran off to alert their families and Tait was arrested soon after in his own home.
The mother of the victim’s young friend said: “I couldn’t believe it when we got the letter from the procurator fiscal saying he was appealing.
“We were disappointed with the sentence because we thought he should have got a longer time in prison, but we also thought we had closure. Now we don’t.
“Somebody needs to say enough is enough.”
The families were already shocked to discover that Tait could be back on the streets in just 10 months under the terms of his sentence.
As he had already spent 14 months on remand, firstly in Barlinnie Prison and latterly in the State Hospital at Carstairs being assessed by clinical psychologists, the sentence was backdated to July last year when he was first arrested.
Under the legislation, convicted criminals are eligible for release after serving around half their sentence, which therefore could see him being set free in July 2015, if the parole board believes he is suitable.
Sheriff Davidson also placed Tait on the sex offenders register and said he was unsuitable to be working with children and protected adults.