October 2014
Sex predator who sexually abused three children over a decade has been jailed for five years
Colin MacDonald, 45, was just 11 years old when he targeted his first victim at an address in Fort William.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how MacDonald raped the ten-year-old girl and sexually abused her over an six-year period in Fort William and Inverness.
He also sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl between 1981 and 1983 at an address in Fort William.
Between August 1988 and August 1991, MacDonald repeatedly abused another girl in the Oban area.
MacDonald was finally heard caught after his victims found the courage to contact police about their ordeal.
MacDonald, of Potterhill Gardens in Perth, was found guilty last month of sexual assault charges before judge Lord Jones.
Sentence had been deferred until Monday in order for the court to obtain reports about MacDonald’s character.
During proceedings, the court heard MacDonald claim he was innocent and that his victims had invented their stories.
He told prosecution lawyer John Scullion: “I’m the victim of a conspiracy.”
However, the jury refused to believe his claims and returned a guilty verdict.
On Monday, defence advocate Ronnie Renucci told the court his client still maintained that he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Mr Renucci added: “He accepts that prison is inevitable. He will lose his employment and he will lose the lifestyle that he has become accustomed to.
“I would ask your lordship to be as lenient to him as possible.”
But Lord Jones said he had no other option but to send MacDonald to prison.
