A sex offender who began abusing a little girl when she was aged three and went on to repeatedly rape his child victim was jailed for nine years and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely
Ronald Davidson also preyed on a young boy who he sexually abused on one occasion at a house in Dunfermline.
A judge told Davidson, 54, at the High Court in Edinburgh he perpetrated “a disgraceful course of sexual conduct” towards his victims.
Lord Weir noted that he showed no remorse and told him: “The complainers have had to live with the consequences of what you did over a period of many years.”
Davidson, of Preston Crescent, High Valleyfield, denied sexual abuse charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of three offences.
He carried out indecent conduct towards the female victim from when she was aged three in 1982 until 1991 at addresses in the Dunfermline area molesting the child and carrying out sex acts on her.
He was also found guilty of raping her on various occasions at a house in Dunfermline and at a wooded area in the town’s Rex Park between February 1986 and February 1991.
Davidson was also convicted of a serious indecency offence against the boy on an occasion between July 1986 and July 1990 when the victim was aged between five and eight.
Defence counsel Kenneth Cloggie said: “His offending commenced when was a child but it persisted until he was 21 years of age.”
He said Davidson had a good work record and and has cared for his wife for years.
Gambling on freedom
A gambling addict thief swindled his Perth auctioneer employer out of dozens of bottles of high value whisky worth more than £40,000. Andrew Grant stole 45 bottles of expensive whisky then told friends and family to sell them at auction – including through his own workplace – claiming to have bought them legitimately at a reduced price.
Cannabis supply sentence
A Perthshire woman found guilty of growing a cannabis farm at her home and supplying it to a 15-year-old girl has been sentenced.
Allisia Mackenzie set up a cultivation in an upstairs bedroom, got herself a manual and bought a bong on Amazon.
The 39-year-old told police she was growing the Class B drug to help ween a schoolgirl off solvents and improve her mental wellbeing as she had feared for the young girl’s life.
Mackenzie, of Gilmerton, returned to the dock to be sentenced and Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC ordered her to complete 300 hours of unpaid work in a year and placed her under supervision for 18 months.
Imposing the direct alternative to imprisonment, the sheriff said: “You fully accept responsibility.
“You do maintain that you had no alternative but to act in the manner you did and that you do not regret your actions.
“I’ve taken into account what you’ve said about the predicament you found yourself in.
“However, in no view could the supply of controlled drugs to a child ever be condoned.
“It is of concern that you report to continue to use cannabis, which would suggest you have learned little.”
Parking rage thug
Parking rage thug Harris Butt knocked out a Dundee pensioner suffering from dementia and motor neurone disease when he left his vehicle after a row about parking just before Christmas 2022 and pushed the 82-year-old Bruce Kelly, causing him to fall into a stone wall. The vulnerable pensioner struck his head on the stonework and was knocked unconscious.
Ex-delivery driver
A delivery driver will lose his job after admitting drink-driving in Glenrothes.
Scott Napier, 49, of Shepherds Buildings, Windygates, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court to plead guilty to driving a white Mercedes with excess alcohol (95mics/ 22) at Rothesay Place on September 12 this year.
Defence lawyer Lucy Boylen said Napier was going through difficulties in his personal life at the time of the offence.
The solicitor said her client is currently working as a delivery driver, though agreed with Sheriff Grant McCulloch’s statement he will not be doing that any longer.
Ms Boylen said Napier does not have any savings and would have to rely on his family to help him if a financial penalty were to be imposed.
Napier claimed from the dock he has been applying for other work and used to work in the recruitment business but it “does not happen overnight”.
Sheriff McCulloch adjourned sentencing until November 7 for him to work out how he is going to pay any fine imposed and banned him from driving meantime.
Twice assaulted mum
A Perth man twice battered his elderly mum, including kicking her in the face, smashing a plant pot over her head and plunging a mug into her face. Rory Mowatt, 44, carried out one assault, apologised, then returned to unleash another sustained assault on the pensioner, whose injuries were not discovered until days later.
Phone fraudster
A fraudster who used a fake driving licence to claim mobile phones from unsuspecting shop workers, including in Perth, as part of a “convoluted” nationwide scam must compensate Vodafone.
Londoner Mark Fahey previously appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted running the scheme between June 27 and July 7 last year.
The 50-year-old targeted Vodaphone stores in Perth, Aberdeen and Ayr and gave false names to staff.
The aliases included Scott Davidson, David Warren and Paul Bowyers.
He used documents to dupe staff into setting up accounts for businesses including Paul Bowyers Motors Ltd and Warren Subsea Engineering.
Fahey managed to obtain a phone valued at £874.
He further attempted to obtain £7,874 worth of other phones.
Fahey, of Whitworth Street, Greenwich, also pled guilty to possessing a fake UK driving licence on June 27 2023.
At a sentencing hearing, solicitor John McLaughlin revealed his client spent time in prison after being involved in similar offending in Lincolnshire and Cardiff.
He said: “Mr Fahey did not retain the phone – that was passed on to those who were directing him.
“He is his mother’s carer. He’s turned his life around.”
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC ordered Fahey to pay £874 in compensation and instructed him to complete 225 hours of unpaid work in a year as an alternative to custody.
Sick gift
A pensioner who used a driving lesson to give the 17-year-old learner a vibrator has been jailed and placed on the sex offenders register. Alexander Bell, 69, also repeatedly touched the girl’s leg during lessons in Stirlingshire.
Wife ban
A Dundee man must spend the next three and a half weeks tackling his alcohol issue away from his wife after admitting attacking her and throwing things around their flat while drunk.
German national Hans Krechel, 62, appeared from custody at Dundee Sheriff Court and pled guilty to assaulting his wife and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner at their home on October 9.
Krechel repeatedly pushed the woman and shouted, swore, made offensive comments, threw household items at a wall and furniture and behaved in an aggressive manner.
The first offender’s solicitor Ross Bennett said: “He’s been in this country since 2008.
“He worked in the care industry until about a year ago.
“I think drink has been a bit of a problem.
“He was frank when interviewed by police. He apologised. I think drink had been taken.
“I think he’s hoping for a reconciliation. I’m not sure if that’s the view of Mrs Krechel.”
Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane deferred sentencing until November 5 and granted Krechel bail with special conditions not to approach his wife.
The court heard Krechel will stay in a hotel and his bail address will be his solicitor’s office.
Sheriff McFarlane said: “You’ve accepted in front of me today that what happened was potentially as a result of you drinking and that’s been a bit of a problem.
“Now is the time to start addressing that problem. If you don’t address it, things are going to get worse.”
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