A Crieff man who raped two little girls and evaded justice for three decades tried to escape punishment by attempting suicide.
Paul White, 54, preyed on three children between August 1987 and April 1999 at various locations in Perthshire.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how White sexually assaulted two of the girls at a swimming pool.
One of his victims was aged just four when he repeatedly molested her between August 1987 and August 1990.
The other child was aged between six and seven when he sexually assaulted her in a changing cubicle at Perth Leisure Centre on an occasion between August 1990 and March 1992.
He also sexually assaulted the girl at other locations in Perthshire. He then raped her between August 1990 and March 1992 at Kinoull Hill in Perth.
White also raped another girl who was aged between nine and 10 at a changing cubicle in Perth Leisure Centre on an occasion between April 1997 and April 1999.
Predator White played games of “sharks” in the pool with his victims before carrying out the sickening attacks.
He was finally brought to justice after the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, plucked up enough courage to speak to the police.
However, White tried to evade justice. During his nine-day trial, White, of Crieff, was on bail but did not turn up for proceedings last Thursday.
It was revealed that this was because he had repeatedly attempted suicide and was arrested by police during one of his bids when they arrived to detain him in connection with his non-appearance at court.
The story emerged after White was found guilty by a jury of rape and sexual assault charges.
Temporary judge Kenneth Maciver told the jurors that he had remanded White in custody because he was concerned for his mental health.
Deferring sentence for the court to obtain a psychiatric report, judge Maciver said: “He was arrested on Thursday night in circumstances which had given me concern about his state of mind.
“Due to the concerns that I had about the accused harming himself, he was seen by and assessed by a medical professional and he was remanded in custody. He is now in custody and I have ordered a psychiatric report.”
Judge Maciver thanked jurors for their efforts and excused them from serving on a jury for 10 years.
He also placed White on the sex offenders register. He will be sentenced on November 17.