March 2021

Ayrshire paedophile caged for sex offences against nine-year-old girl

A paedophile has been locked up for historical sex offences against a young girl.

Richard Thornhill, of West Crescent, Troon, carried out the vile attacks on various dates in 2008, 2010 and 2012.

During one sickening incident, Thornhill inserted his hand beneath the young girl’s clothing before sexually assaulting her.

But justice finally caught up with the beast on Thursday when he was jailed for three years and four months — and placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Thornhill, 63, appeared for sentencing at Ayr Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing on February 3.

There were two charges on the indictment which he admitted; that he used “lewd and libidinous practices” towards a girl at an address in Ayrshire and that he did “insert his hand in her clothing and touch her private parts.”

The attacks were carried out on various occasions between late August 2008 and September 30, 2010.

On a second charge, Thornhill admitted carrying out sexual assaults against the girl on dates between December 1, 2010 and late August 2012.

Sheriff Scott Pattison jailed Thornhill for 20 months on each charge with the sentences to run consecutively, totalling 40 months.

Thornhill was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

March 2021

Paedophile police officer was caught with child abuse images at home he shared with wife and kids

A police officer was outed as a paedophile after being caught hoarding a sickening haul of child abuse images at the home he shared with his wife and children.

Traffic cop Alan Mitchell was found to have kept the vile files of abuse for more than four years at the family’s detached cottage.

Mitchell lost his job, had to leave the family home, is banned from seeing his children and will now lose the property, after holding his hands up to his sordid offence at Ayr Sheriff Court.

The 47-year-old, who resigned from the force in disgrace, pleaded guilty during a hearing last month.

He had admitted breaking Section 52A(1) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 by being in possession of “indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children.”

He pleaded guilty to having the files between September 17, 2015, and October 3, 2019 at the family home in Alloway – which has now been put up for sale

When Mitchell returned to the dock on Thursday to be sentenced, defence solicitor Ian Gillies explained: “He is living with his parents.

“There’s been a great deal of social work involvement with the family.

“Social work hope, eventually, for Mr Mitchell to have contact with his children under supervision

Sheriff Scott Pattison told Mitchell he was being spared prison “by the slimmest of margins, given the seriousness of the offence.”

He said: “I’m willing to deal with this matter by a number of non-custodial options.”

He placed Mitchell on a three-year-long Community Payback Order, ordering him to be supervised by social workers for that length of time.

He also ordered him to attend the Moving Forward: Making Changes programme, which helps sex offenders change their ways, over the same period of time.

He told Mitchell he is only allowed to own one electronic device capable of accessing the internet, and that he must make it available to the authorities to monitor his activities.

And he is only allowed to move to a new home if it has been risk assessed as being suitable.

He was also banned from having any contact with anyone under the age of 18, unless it is signed off by his social worker, and was given 18 months to complete 300 hours unpaid work.

The judge said he deemed a “fairly extensive Restriction of Liberty Order as a punishment element” ordering Mitchell to be electronically tagged and have to remain within his parents’ home in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, between 7pm and 7am every day for 10 months.

He was also told he will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and has to return to court later this year for a progress review.

June 2021

Evil woman who kept toddler, 2, in CAGE moans she can’t do community service as she’s had another baby

A woman who kept a toddler in a home-made cage and who left another toddler riddled with bruises during a horrific catalogue of neglect has moaned that she can’t do community service as she’s had another baby.

Claire Boyle, 34, was ordered to carry out 250 hours of community service – but has whined that delivering a baby by Caesarean has left her unable to fulfil her sentence.

Vile Boyle, from Ayrshire, Scotland, was convicted of child neglect after she trapped a two-year-old boy in a modified cot with a wooden frame strapped across the top.

In March she said she had “no regrets” as she dodged jail.

She had caged the young victim in a modified cot and claimed it was for his protection.

Boyle had previously tried to sell a child for £1million and had shaken him, shouted at him and abandoned him, a court had heard.

It only came to light after a four-year-old boy escaped from the flat by squeezing through a six-inch gap in the window and dropping four feet to the ground.

He was found alone in the street in his pyjamas in the rain after fleeing the property.

When taken to hospital to be checked over, medics discovered so many bruises they thought he may have blood cancer or a blood clotting disorder.

She is now whining about her bad back preventing her from being able to do the unpaid work.

Boyle was ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work, and be supervised by social workers for 18 months as part of a Community Payback Order (CPO).

But, the mum has claimed that she can’t physically enter the van which transports offenders to carry out their sentence in the community.

This is reportedly due to the impact of the baby’s birth, according to claims made during a CPO progress review hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

She appeared without legal representation, as the solicitor who defended her during trial no longer represents her.

Sheriff Michael Higgins told Boyle that the review would be postponed, to allow her to organise a new lawyer.

Adding that he was “concerned” by her progress, Higgins said: “You’ll appreciate this is a very serious matter.

“The sentence was a direct alternative to a custodial sentence and I explained that to you clearly at the time.”

Boyle replied: “I’ve actually done quite a few hours. I’ve got a bad nerve in my back.

“I’ve just had a caesarean, not even a year ago.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do the work, it was climbing up into the van that was hurting my back.”

Higgins said: “There are concerning matters within the report, specifically in regards your engagement with social workers, and your behaviour with social workers in that engagement.”

Boyle and her partner Timothy Johnstone, 77, were both convicted of neglect in February, regarding offences which took place in October 2018.

February 2021

Woman who kept toddler in cage caught when another boy, 4, escaped from window

A two-year-old boy was kept in a home-made cage and another toddler was left riddled with bruises during a horrific catalogue of neglect.

Wicked Claire Boyle of Newmilns, Ayrshire trapped the toddler in a modified cot, claiming the cage was for the boy’s own protection

A second child, who escaped the neglect, was found to be so severely bruised a doctor thought he might have a blood disorder.

Previously a court heard that Boyle had tried to sell a child for £1 million and had shaken him, shouted at him and abandoned him.

It only came to light after a four-year-old boy escaped from the flat by squeezing through a six-inch gap in the window and dropping four feet to the ground.

He was found alone in the street in his pyjamas in the rain after fleeing the property.

When taken to hospital to be checked over, medics discovered so many bruises they thought he may have blood cancer or a blood clotting disorder.

Dr Christine Findlay, a consultant paediatrician with NHS Ayrshire and Arran, said there were “fingertip bruises” on the four-year-old boy which suggested “a child having been grabbed”.

The paediatrician said the boy had so many bruises doctors believed he may have an “underlying medical condition which predisposed the child to bleeding – a blood disorder, like hemophilia or leukemia”.

Boyle – who had claimed the older boy self-harmed and the cot was modified to protect the younger boy – is now facing jail after racking up her third conviction for child neglect.

The 34-year-old and her partner Timothy Johnstone, 57, were both convicted of neglect on Thursday after a trial at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

The court heard a passer-by found the older boy alone in soaked nightwear in a street in Newmilns, Ayrshire, on October 3, 2018.

They alerted police, leading to an investigation and when officers arrived at the property they found the younger child trapped in the makeshift cage in a bedroom.

Giving evidence, Police Constable Adam Peppard said: “[The toddler’s] nappy was full and hanging low and he was upset.

“[He] was within the makeshift cot – the bottom of the cot had been removed and strapped to the top to stop the child getting out.

“It was turned into a very risky cage.

“She [Boyle] started blaming it on the other child. She said it was ‘all his fault’. She stated he was able to open the window and let himself out.

“She said her solution was to put things in front of the window and to put the base over the top of the cot.”

The court also heard that when he was found the older boy appeared extremely hungry.

Dr Findlay said the “number, size and pattern” of bruises on the boy left her “worried.”

She said it was unlikely the child had caused some of the bruises by self-harming and said there were far more than she would expect to see from “normal childhood play”.

And she said he had “crusted” blood around his ears, which indicated “a blow to the ear”, adding: “This is a child who has lots of signs of injuries.”

A charge the couple assaulted the older boy was withdrawn by prosecutor Ed Sheeran during the trial and they were cleared of claims they had also neglected a baby.

But Sheriff Higgins convicted Boyle of neglecting the two-year-old and the four-year-old children, and Johnstone of neglecting the four-year-old.

The judge called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case.

In 2015, Ayr Sheriff Court heard Boyle tried to sell a child for £1million.

She also shook the boy, shouted at him and abandoned him in a “damp and draughty” close in the town.

When asked to comment outside court on Thursday, Boyle insisted she had done nothing wrong.

When asked about her previous convictions, she said: “Shut your mouth. Get tae f***.”

December 2020

Ayrshire sex predator filmed raping girl, 13, on cycle path while on bail for rape and underage sex with 2 other victims

A sex predator was caught on camera raping a 13-year-old girl – while on bail for rape and underage sex with two other victims.

Mark Pettigrew, 19, attacked the child on a cycle path after giving her alcohol on August 9 last year.

A cyclist riding on the track between Galston and Hurlford in Ayrshire happened to record him on top of the motionless girl.

Jurors heard how Pettigrew was bail at the time having earlier raped a 15 year-old and had underage sex with a 14 year-old.

Pettigrew – who denied the accusations – is now behind bars after being convicted at the High Court in Glasgow

The first offender will learn his fate in the New Year.

Pettigrew insisted the girl at the cycle path had pestered him to “s***” her.

But, prosecutor Greg Farrell told jurors the claim was “patently nonsense”.

The trial heard the youngster had been given drink before Pettigrew pulled down her clothes and took advantage of her.

Mr Farrell said footage of the incident was “unpleasant, but necessary viewing”.

In his closing speech, he added: “Mark Pettigrew was caught in the act by the passing cyclist.

What you saw was entirely consistent with the evidence and the state she was in as a result of consuming alcohol.”

The court was told how a Good Samaritan found the dishevelled victim and drove her home.

The upset girl was said to have “collapsed into her mother’s arms” when she arrived.

Mr Farrell: “She was able to say that whatever happened, she had not wanted it to.

Pettigrew raped the girl having been “undeterred” by earlier police involvement.

He was on two bail orders at the time from Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

He repeatedly had sex with an underage girl in Saltcoats, Ayrshire in 2018 and 2019.

She was 14 when it first occurred. At one stage, he flouted an order to stay away from the child.

Pettigrew then raped a 15 year-old girl in Saltcoats in April 2019.

He claimed during the trial she had “forced” herself on him, but that they did not have sex.

Mr Farrell said to jurors: “He took no active part according to him. Do you think he was giving a clear and honest account of what happened?”

Lord Burns deferred sentencing for reports. Pettigrew was put on the sex offenders list.