A leading Tayside police officer has vowed historical sexual offenders will be vigorously pursued in the quest for justice for their victims.
In the wake of a near 10-year sentence imposed on an Angus rapist for a string of crimes stretching back almost 20 years, the man in charge of Tayside’s Public Protection Unit (PPU) has said his officers will do whatever they can to ensure the courage shown by victims in coming forward is not in vain.
There has been a nationwide upsurge in the reporting of historical offending in the wake of the Operation Yewtree inquiry, launched by the Metropolitan Police towards the end of last year into claims of sexual abuse against children by television personality Jimmy Savile and others.
Tayside has encountered a notable rise in the number of reported historical incidents and Detective Chief Inspector Iain Wales, head of Tayside PPU, told The Courier that despite the significant challenges of pursuing such inquiries, officers were determined to track down evil perpetrators.
DCI Wales spoke following the jailing of former Arbroath man John Welsh Sinclair for a string of sexual offences stretching back nearly two decades.
On Friday, 61-year-old Sinclair was jailed for a total of nine years and six months after being convicted by a jury of a number of serious sexual offences including rape, assault with intent to rape and lewd and libidinous behaviour.
The offences involved two separate victims, both aged under 16 at the time, and covered a period between 1995 and 2000.
DCI Wales said: “This was a long and difficult inquiry in which the officers of the PPU in Arbroath had to gain the trust of the victims over a long period of time.
“I would like to pay tribute to the courage of the victims, not only for coming forward but for having to then go to the High Court to give evidence.”
DCI Wales continued: “These were historical offences which happened some time ago, but we will absolutely pursue any matters such as these with the same vigour as if they were reported to us yesterday.
“We are seeing an increase in historical offences being reported through the high profile surrounding inquiries such as Operation Yewtree and that is to be welcomed in terms of victims having the courage to come forward.”
“The sentence in this particular case also illustrates that the courts take a very serious view of such matters,” he said.