June 2021

Scots sex beast Kim Avis who faked own death jailed for 15 years after 11-year campaign of abuse

A manipulative sex offender who abused women and children has been jailed for 15 years after he was tracked down by US marshalls.

Kim Avis, 57, raped and molested victims during an 11-year campaign of sex crimes in the Highlands.

But as his trial for the string of offences loomed he was reported missing in America after going for a swim at Monastery Beach in California.

Avis had claimed that after “a near death experience” he had come to the view that he would not receive a fair trial.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You the effectively went on the run before US marshalls, unpersuaded that you were dead, tracked you down in Colorado.”

Lord Sandison said: “You were for many years a very well-known street trader in Inverness, busking and selling jewellery from your market stall.”

The judge said that as he understood it Avis had even received “some sort of good citizen award”.

But Lord Sandison said there was another side to him and the author of a background report prepared on the sex offender had described him as “a controlling and dominant personality”.

He said Avis manipulated, managed and coerced victims as he perpetrated a catalogue of sex offending which included horrific rapes.

Avis, formerly of Wolves Den, Farr, Inverness, had denied a string of charges at an earlier trial but was convicted of attacks on two adult women and two girls committed between 2006 and 2016.

He was found guilty of a total  of 13 offences of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and indecency.

He was also found guilty of failing to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh on March 11 2019 for proceedings in the case. He was detained in the US in July that year.

Lord Sandison jailed Avis for 12 years for the sex crimes he committed and imprisoned him for a further three years for failing to appear in court.

Avis was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

April 2021

Police release photo of Inverness man who paid for girl (13) to strip

Police Scotland have taken the unusual step of releasing a photo of a “devious” man who was jailed yesterday for sexual offences.

Ian Nicholson from Inverness admitted paying £50 for a 13-year-old girl to strip down to her bra and pants.

The 52-year-old was due to stand trial at Inverness Sheriff Court but entered a guilty plea before the jury heard any evidence.

The offence was committed in Culloden Woods on August 24, 2019.

The court heard that Nicholson was already serving a 30-month prison term for a separate offence and is on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Sheriff Margaret Neilson handed down a headline sentence of 11 months for the offence involving the 13-year-old.

November 2019

Man, 50, admits paying underage girls to strip, abusing young teens and filming people using a shopping centre toilet

Ian Nicholson, of Castle Heather Road, Inverness, also filmed people in a toilet at a shopping centre using a hidden camera.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that Nicholson would buy alcohol and cigarettes for youngsters and reward girls under the age of 18 with cash if they took their clothes off.

His activities were revealed when police obtained a search warrant to seize and examine his laptop in March 2018, fiscal depute David Morton told Sheriff Chris Dickson.

On the laptop, police found 355 images of men and woman in various stages of undress within the toilet at the Eastgate Centre, taken over several months during 2011.

They also recovered a number of indecent photographs of children which had been downloaded and kept between 2011 and 2017.

Mr Morton told the court of Nicholson’s illegal sexual exploits with young teenage girls under the age of 16.

He said: “They had been made aware of the possibility that if they removed items of clothing for Nicholson they may receive money in return. This took place on a number of occasions at Nicholson’s house and elsewhere.”

Mr Morton added that one of the girls took some of her friends to Nicholson’s house where they would be supplied with alcohol and cigarettes or given money to purchase them.

“One afternoon, one of the girls was in Nicholson’s garden hot tub and he kissed her on the neck and mouth.

“Another girl also attended his home and undressed in front of him with Nicholson recording a number of images unbeknown to her. They were also found on the laptop.”

Mr Morton went on to say that Nicholson handled her breasts and carried out a sex act on himself.

Nicholson admitted a total of eight sex offences involving voyeurism of adults and sexual activity with young girls, culpable and reckless conduct, downloading and possessing indecent images of children.

His lawyer, Pauline Chapman said that her client, who admitted previous convictions, could be dealt with immediately due to his record. But she asked the Sheriff to call for a background and psychological report as they may be helpful.

March 2021

Hotel worker with secret camera spared jail

An Inverness hotel worker who placed a hidden camera in a cubicle of a male toilet to secretly film people using it was spared a jail sentence on Thursday.

But Sheriff Gary Aitken told 25-year-old David Mackay he was very close to be sent to custody. Instead, Mackay had a series of demands and restrictions placed on him by the Sheriff.

He will be under social work supervision for two years, on the sex offender’s register for the same period and he has to participate in a rehabilitation programme.

In addition, he must get any future job approved by his supervising officer, allow monitoring of any internet-enabled and image-capturing device and to have them checked by police.

The device Mackay used was found in the Craigmonie Hotel, Inverness, and the matter was reported to police on April 5, 2019.

Mackay, of Bishop Kinkell, near Conon Bridge, pleaded guilty to placing a recording device with the intention to commit voyeurism and to the offence of voyeurism.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that when interviewed by police, he made full admissions.

Sentence had been previously deferred for a background report.

January 2021

Sex offender who struggled with police sent back to jail

A convicted sex offender wanted to buy a train ticket home – but all he got was a ticket back to prison.

Aiden Bremner, who previously lived in Wick, boarded a train to return to his new home in Mill Street, Dingwall, in time to satisfy his curfew.

It had been imposed when he was released on licence two months earlier from an extended prison sentence of six years in September 2019 for having sex with a 14-year-old girl.

But the 25-year-old wanted to buy the ticket on board, only for the inspector to deny his request and eject him from the carriage.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard last week that Bremner breached his curfew by not being in his home before the curfew expired.

However, when police turned up at his property on December 23, 2020, to return him to jail to complete his sentence, Bremner resisted arrest and injured a policeman’s nose.

Bremner appeared for trial on Friday before Sheriff Robert Frazer but submitted pleas of guilty to resisting arrest and threatening behaviour. He was jailed for five months, backdated to December 23.

Fiscal depute Emily Hood told the court that Bremner’s release licence had been revoked and police went to Mill Street to arrest him.

“He struggled violently with them and [they] attempted to cuff him. He lashed out with his arms and legs, and struck a policeman, bursting his nose. He put one officer in a headlock and took his baton from him,” Ms Hood added.