Convicted paedophile Connor Tait, who was found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in Dundee in July 2013, has been granted leave to appeal against both his conviction and his sentence.
The Appeals Court in Edinburgh has confirmed that the appeal has now been “sisted” and a procedural hearing has been set for April 8 at which dates will be decided. A full appeal will take place between April 29 and June 7.
Tait is still behind bars as no application has been made for bail by his legal team.
Tait, 22, was jailed in September 2014 for four years by Sheriff Richard Davidson, with an extended period of four years on licence, after being found guilty after trial at Dundee Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting the boy, who was out playing with his pal.
The mother of the victim’s young friend told The Courier: “I got a letter from the procurator fiscal saying the case was now sisted and they would write and tell me when the dates for the appeal are set.”
The families of the two young boys were already shocked to discover that Tait could be back on the streets in just 10 months.
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 2013 when he was first arrested.
Under the legislation, criminals are eligible for release after serving around half their sentence, which, therefore, could see him being set free in July this year, 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.
He said psychologists had come to the conclusion that Tait was not suffering from a mental illness nor from learning difficulties and that his “odd presentation” had been as a consequence of his drug and alcohol abuse.