Married man who had sex with a child has prison term reduced

A married man who had sex with an underage boy in the grounds of a Perth hospital has had his prison term reduced.

Douglas Sinclair, 32, was jailed for four years at Perth Sheriff Court for having sex with the teenager, who had claimed online he was 18.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh has now ruled the term was “excessive” and reduced it to three years.

Sinclair abused the youngster in a derelict building in the grounds of Murray Royal Hospital, Muirhall Road, Perth.

The offence came to light after the boy was involved in an incident at his school. It emerged he had used a chat site to make contact with Sinclair and others.

Sinclair’s DNA was found on a curtain at the scene.

He initially denied the offence when questioned about it.

However, in court he admitted he engaged in sexual acts with the boy at the hospital on one occasion between August 2015 and January 2016.

Sentencing Sinclair, Sheriff Gillian Wade told him: “Given your assessment as being at very high risk of sexual re-conviction, your attitude to the crime and the nature of the offence, there is no alternative to custody.

“It’s deeply concerning you are not accepting all your guilt to the extent it might be accepted and you seek to blame the victim, who was a child.”

Appeal judges Lord Menzies and Lord Glennie reduced the custodial term from four years to three but maintained the extension period of 18 months, imposed by Sheriff Wade.

Lord Menzies said: “We are persuaded that it appears the sheriff may have misapprehended the current situation with regard to early release provisions, and in light of that and in all the other circumstances of the case we consider the custodial term which she selected, namely four years discounted from five, is indeed excessive.

“We shall substitute a term of three years’ imprisonment.”