A serial sex attacker who preyed on four young boys – one of whom remembered abuse during the 1978 World Cup – has been jailed for five years.
66-year-old former slaughterhouse worker Peter McCormick from Dunfermline was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
He admitted in May to four charges of lewd and libidinous behaviour.
Judge Douglas Brown said the jail term would have been six and a half years, but for the guilty pleas.
He told McCormick: “You plainly groomed the boys to sexually abuse them.
“The impact of this can last a lifetime.
“Three of the victims have submitted statements describing how your behaviour has significantly affected them and continues to in many aspects of their lives.”
Years of sick crimes
The crimes began in 1978 and continued until the mid-1990s.
Regarding the first boy, prosecutor BJ Gill KC told the court: “He was 12 at the time. McCormick was 20.
“He remembers it as a time Scotland were in the World Cup and Ally MacLeod was manager.
“That would have been the tournament in 1978.”
The boy was molested by McCormick at a house in Stirling after being plied with drink.
The next youngster suffered a similar ordeal later that year and a third was attacked in 1979.
McCormick struck again in the mid-90s, repeatedly abusing this boy at another property in Stirling and in a tent.
He also took him to quiet “rural” areas to prey on the child.
Caught decades after abuse began
Decades later one male took to social media to describe how he had suffered.
He had reported McCormick to police years earlier but there were no charges brought at that time.
The three other victims then came forward, leading to the predator finally being snared in 2023.
His lawyer Rosalyn McTaggart told the court on Monday: “There is nothing that he can say that can mitigate the offences – the guilt haunts him.”
McCormick will also be on the sex offenders list indefinitely.
Scotland’s Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offences, Katrina Parkes, said: “Peter McCormick manipulated and exploited these young children in an abhorrent campaign of abuse.
“His victims have shown great courage and strength by coming forward and reporting him to the authorities.
“McCormick will now have to face the consequences of his actions.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
