Convicted sex offender is jailed for two years after re-offending

A CONVICTED sex offender has been sentenced to two years in jail while serving a community payback order for similar offences.

Ian Andrew Bruce, 49, currently in Inverness prison, will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two women and performing sexual acts in front of them in December 2016, after being convicted of similar offences against three other women in May 2014.

On Thursday March 30, Fort William Sheriff Court heard that Bruce had been in custody since December 12 and that he had tendered a guilty plea in advance of the first court hearing on March 3.

Solicitor Hamish Melrose explained the more recent charges were more serious than on the previous occasion and that Bruce had ‘gone further’ this time.

The court heard that Bruce was more than two thirds of the way through a threeyear supervised programme requirement as part of his community payback for the previous charges.

The court heard Bruce knew one of the complainants of the more recent charges and had been invited to her home that night where Bruce and both complainants drank quite a lot.

Bruce had found that the two females had had some sort of sexual contact and had invited them to continue in his presence, and when they didn’t, he assaulted them both and performed a sexual activity in their presence.

Mr Melrose said the criminal justice report described this as ‘opportunistic offending’ and that Bruce accepted the description that it was ‘a complete betrayal of trusts’, and the impact his behaviour would have upon the two women.

Mr Melrose added that on the previous occasion Bruce had lost a good job and had been supported by his wife, but this was not the case now as their relationship had ended and he was no longer welcome at home.

Sheriff William Taylor said: ‘ It’s a very worrying matter as it shows a deterioration in your behavior and I very much have in mind the protection of public and young people.’

He issued the prison sentence and recalled the previous community payback order and substituted a further six-month jail term to be served concurrently.

He added it was important the public continued to have protection on Bruce’s release and therefore ordered a two-year supervised release order as well as 10 years on the sex offenders’ register.