Ex-councillor found guilty of indecent assault

A former councillor and prominent businessman has been found guilty of several charges including lewd conduct and indecent assault.

Robert Henderson, 73, from Cullivoe, Yell, Shetland, was convicted at the High Court in Aberdeen yesterday.

Detective Sergeant Bruce Peebles said: “Henderson’s offending stretched from the 1970s through to the 1990s, when he targeted vulnerable young girls and women within the local community.

“He abused his position as a prominent local businessman, employer and latterly as an elected local councillor to try and disguise his private behaviour with vulnerable girls and women.”

He also paid tribute to and thanked those individuals who provided information to police.

“Police Scotland very much acknowledges the courage of the victims who decided to come forward during the enquiry and recognises the lasting effects which Henderson’s actions have had on them throughout their lives,” he said.

“It is also acknowledged that his actions and the subsequent inquiry have had a very large impact on many people on the island of Yell, where the crimes took place, and in the wider Shetland community, not least upon the members of Henderson’s own immediate family and where a sufficiency of evidence exists, such crimes will be reported for consideration of prosecution in court.”

DS Peebles added: “I would take this opportunity to encourage anyone who has been a victim of such crimes in the past that should they wish to report this to the police, they will be treated sensitively, listened to, and all such allegations will be investigated thoroughly.”

Henderson will return to court in May for sentence.