A Fife man who fled to Greece after sexually assaulting two young girls has been jailed for three years and put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Terence Webster, 66, also physically assaulted a boy on various occasions – including seizing him by the neck – during a period spanning 33 months from when he was 11.
Webster was convicted by a jury following a trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court and appeared in the dock last week from custody for sentencing.
Defence lawyer Aime Allan told the court Webster was apprehended in Greece on October 21 last year “in connection with this matter” and spent more than 25 weeks in custody there.
Ms Allan said her client maintains his position of denial and is not deemed as suitable by social workers for a programme to treat sexual offending.
“Prior to his arrest and remand he was living in the UK.
“He had gone to Greece, partially to do with difficulties he was having in the community as a result of these proceedings.”
The court heard his time abroad meant he missed a court date, claiming he was unwell.
Jailed
Sentencing, Sheriff Susan Duff told Webster: “These are serious crimes which undoubtedly impacted the child victims.
“The only appropriate sentence is custody.”
Sheriff Duff jailed Webster for three years, taking into account the time spent behind bars in Greece, and backdated the sentence to April 17, when he first appeared in court in Dunfermline upon his return to Scotland.
Webster was found guilty of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl at an address in Oakley and a 13-year-old girl at an address in Alicante, Spain.
Webster was also found to have physically assaulted a boy on various occasions over a period spanning two years and nine months at addresses in Oakley, Falkland and elsewhere.
All the offending was in the 2010s.
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