Sentence ‘not just’

Sister blasts jail term

A grieving sister insists the sentence of a child molester who abused her late brother does not represent justice.

Pamela McLellan hit out after sick David Alexander was jailed for five-and-a-half years after abusing two boys, including her sibling Brian Sirrell, at Alexander’s former home in Motherwell.

Last week, a j udge t old Alexander, 48, at the High Court in Edinburgh that only a prison sentence was appropriate for his crimes.

Alexander, of Brown Street, Carluke, had denied a series of charges against him, but was convicted of two offences of indecent behaviour and one of indecent assault.

Tragically, Brian passed away last July at the age of just 34. However, his written evidence was used in court to help convict his abuser.

Pamela, 36, said: “My brother died because of what this animal done to him for all those years. That man practically killed my brother.

“We wanted justice for Brian but how is that sentence justice? The system is a joke. Brian first told me what had happened back in 2014. It was breaking his heart.

“When he finally told me he just collapsed on the couch. He was petrified of that man.

“He kept saying that Alexander would come and get him. Even when he went to the police he struggled with his mental health; it broke my heart to see him like that.”

Alexander began abusing Brian when he was aged just 12 in December 1998 at a flat in Motherwell. The vile abuse continued until June the following year.

Perverted Alexander used Brian’s love of American wrestling to lure him into his flat after meeting the young boy when he was delivering papers while on visits to stay with his dad.

But when Brian stopped turning up for his paper run, his dad told him he couldn’t go to watch wresting any more.

He abused the second boy from January 2000 until December 2001.

Defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif said that after leaving college, Alexander had worked up until about three-and-a-half years ago when he was attacked.

Mr Latif said: “He gave up his job as a consequence of that assault.”

He said Alexander suffers from depression and anxiety and has other health problems.

Alexander was told that he will be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely following the sentencing hearing which he followed via a video link to prison.

B r i a n ’s d e a t h d e v a s t a t e d Pamela, mum Caroline Swandle, 54, dad Peter Sirrell, 56, and his other siblings, a brother and sister.

Pamela, who lives in Motherwell, added: “As a family we haven’t been able to grieve properly because of this.

“Brian was well-loved and lived in Motherwell his whole short life. Everyone knew him and people won’t forget him.

“He was studying to be an electrical engineer but because of the troubles with mental health he wasn’t able to finish the course.

“What happened to him robbed Brian of the chance to have a family and a job. It robbed him of his life.”