Businessman jailed for sex abuse of girl he groomed 20 years ago

‘Flattered by the attention’

A BUSINESSMAN who plied an underage girl with cannabis and alcohol during a grooming campaign more than 20 years ago has been jailed.

Stephen Hamilton was 36 when he started grooming the 15-year-old and ‘cajoled’ her into carrying out sex acts on him until she turned 16.

The green energy expert, now 58, drove the girl to car parks to carry out indecent acts and on one occasion took her to stay at the Dunblane Hydro Hotel in Perthshire.

Imposing a two-year sentence, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Hamilton he had no option but to send him to prison after rejecting his bid to withdraw his guilty plea.

Perth Sheriff Court was previously told Hamilton preyed on the girl, as she was flattered by the attention of an older man.

His actions had only come to light 20 years later when the victim – now 36 – told her current partner what had happened.

Hamilton, of Forgandenny, Perthshire, admitted indecently assaulting the girl and getting her to perform sex acts between September 1996 and September 1997.

Fiscal depute Tina Dickie told the court: ‘During 1996 he flirted with her and touched her inappropriately.

‘This continued for several months. She felt uncomfortable with what he was doing but didn’t tell him to stop because she was too frightened.’

She added: ‘It escalated and they began to engage in more serious sexual activity. She was not forced but she was persuaded.’

Mrs Dickie said Hamilton provided the girl ‘with alcohol and cannabis prior to carrying out sexual acts’. The girl was ‘flattered by the attention and took part because she was cajoled’.

Sheriff Foulis also placed Hamilton on the sex offenders’ register.