Sex beast sentenced for breaching order
One of Scotland’s most dangerous paedophiles was lurking at a family fun day in Ayr.
But a vigilant nurse recognised William Cunningham, 51, in Rozelle Park.
The nurse knew Cu n n i n g ham was breaching a sexual offences order and contacted police.
“This is the fourth time you’ve breached your order,” Sheri f f John Montgomery told Cunningham.
He sentenced the notorious Cunningam to a year in prison – reduced from 18 months because the brute pleaded guilty.
The sente n c e i s backdated to May 10 this year as Cunningham has been banged up in Barlinnie since then.
He wandered into a family Burnsfest event at Rozelle on Saturday, May 5.
Cunningham’s lawyer, Umar Hussain, claimed his client had planned to visit Burns Cottage.
“He saw posters for the festival. The park has a very open landscape and it didn’t occur to him that he was somewhere he shouldn’t have been,” said Mr Hussain.
But an order, made at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on May 26, 2010, prohibits Cunningham from going anywhere near young people under 16 unless unavoidable.
Mr Hussain said Cunningham had entered Rozelle by an official entrance and did not sneak in.
Depute fiscal Andrew Lazzarin said the female nurse who spotted Cunningham had dealt with him in the past in her professsional capacity.
She saw him, wearing a camouflage jacket, and knew he should not be in a family park.
Cu n n i n ham ha s more than 30 previous convictions, for sex offences, child cruelty and attempted murder, for which he was first jailed for four years and nine months in 2007.
In January of 2017, the beast was jailed for four months after admitting breaching the conditions of his sex offenders’ registration. That came just weeks after he was jailed for 10 months at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court for failing to notify police of an alias he used.
But there was uproar in Kilmarnock later that year when neighbours thought he was coming back to live at at an address in the town’s Grange Street.
Residents were later relieved to learn he was put out his council flat and given accommodation at a hostel.
Cunningham had previously lived in Newmilns.