You’re a danger to little girls, child rapist told

Beast caged for nine years for catalogue of abuse

A child rapist who has been branded a danger to little girls – after abusing children aged just three and four – was jailed for nine years yesterday.

A court heard how John Allan, of Barrhead, inflicted an appalling ordeal of prolonged abuse on the youngsters.

Allan began molesting the two children at these young ages and continued perpetrating his sex crimes over a 13-year period.

Allan admitted to police that he “terrorised” one victim after thrashing her buttocks with a cane.

A judge told Allan, 46, at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had pled guilty to offences which amounted to “a horrific catalogue of abuse”.

Lord Boyd of Duncansby told him he had a sexual attraction to prepubescent and pubescent children.

He also pointed out that Allan had even claimed that the victims would – on occasion – approach him to initiate sex.

The judge told the landscaper that he had seen the child victims as “sexual playthings”.

Lord Boyd said he would order that Allan be placed under supervision for a further four year period because he posed a risk to female children.

Allan earlier admitted six charges of indecent behaviour, sexual assault and rape committed at houses in Barrhead, Renfrewshire, and an Argyllshire village between 2003 and last year.

The court heard that a decade earlier he had asked for medication to control his sex drive.

Allan was caught after one victim confided in school friends and then told one of the children’s mothers and police were called in.

He told officers that he had done things to the girls “that should never have happened to them”.

He confessed to a “a premeditated rape” and claimed the abuse ended because he had been trying to stop it.

Allan said: “I’ve been working hard to stop and I’ve been fighting myself to stop.”

Defence counsel Tony Graham said: “Perhaps the best thing that can be said of him is that he recognised his guilt and instructed pleas of guilty be tendered.”

Lord Boyd told Allan that he would have jailed him for 10 years if he had been convicted of the offences after a trial.

He also told the child abuser that he would be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.