Drunk terrified girls he confrunted at river

Weirdo who has a string of convictions is spared jail

A creep who tried to lure two young girls away from a cycle path was spared jail yesterday.

Weirdo Jason Brown pounced on the youngsters, aged eight and nine, when they disappeared from their parents’ sight for a few seconds.

Brown, who has 27 previous convictions, emerged from a nearby riverbank after the children rode their bikes round a blind bend and could not be seen by their mums and dads.

Drunken Brown, clutching betting slips from a local bookmakers, asked the primary schoolgirls their names – then said he would take them away from the path.

But the girls, who were left in floods of tears by the incident, cycled off and raised the alarm.

The details emerged last month when Brown, 47, appeared at Paisley Sheriff Court over the events of August 9 last year.

He was due to go on trial, charged with attempting to abduct the youngsters from the cycle track in Elderslie on the day in question, but pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace.

Sheriff David Pender called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing, in what he termed “a very serious offence” and warned Brown he could be jailed, saying: “All options are still open to me.”

Brown returned to the dock yesterday to learn his fate.

Defence solicitor Charlie McCusker told the court that Brown had drunk two bottles of wine on the day in question.

He explained: “This is a very trying case. “He came upon the girls. “He thought he knew them and said he would ‘get them up the road’.

“It would clearly be frightening for the girls to see someone intoxicated and disheveled.”

After hearing that the accused is an alcoholic who is trying to address his addiction, Sheriff Pender spared Brown – who has previously been jailed for offences such as assaults, robberies, housebreaking, fraud and shoplifting – another spell behind bars.

He placed him on a Community Payback Order, telling him he will be supervised by social workers for 18 months, has to undergo alcohol counselling and has six months to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

As he did so, the sheriff said: “This is a serious matter and, of course, over consumption of alcohol is no excuse.

“I think I can deal with it without sending you to prison.”

Brown, formerly of Floorsburn Crescent, Johnstone, and now of Old Road, Elderslie, was jailed in 2014 for a botched robbery in Johnstone.

The incident saw him fleeing the Cherished Thoughts store empty handed after being fought off by the owner.