Copfs

A telecoms worker from Paisley has been sentenced for creating and storing AI-generated images of child sex abuse.  Risto Bergman, 42, who is originally from Finland, pled guilty to making pictures showing young girls being abused. 

A woman who embezzled £1.5 million from a family scrap metal business in Aberdeen has been ordered to repay almost £670,000 under proceeds of crime laws. Coleen Muirhead, 57, of Aberdeen, was jailed for three years and four months in September 2023 after she admitted a charge of embezzle

Two men who set up a drugs trafficking network worth hundreds of thousands of pounds have been imprisoned for a total of nine years. Jamie Montgomery, 44, and Darrin Campbell, 39, both of Glasgow, orchestrated the sale and supply of large quantities of cocaine and cannabis.

A former local authority employee who embezzled more than £1 million from Aberdeen City Council over a 17-year period has been ordered to repay more than £165,000 under proceeds of crime laws. Michael Paterson, 60, was imprisoned for four years at the High Court in Edinburgh last July af

A man who was extradited from Germany to stand trial after raping a vulnerable teenage girl has been jailed for eight years. Marwan Al-Bakr was found guilty of attacking the 15-year-old near Hampden Park Football Stadium in Glasgow on 14 February 2022. The now 32-year-old first approached the v

The Crown Office has lodged a first notice to begin the court process for a discretionary fatal accident inquiry into the death of David Ainsworth. Mr Ainsworth, 59, was admitted to Hairmyres hospital on 20 January 2020 following concerns raised by a home carer. His condition deteriorated and he die

A business owner who conned dozens of customers out of more than £100,000 by breaking promises to build garden sheds and summerhouses has been jailed for three years and four months. Alistair Baxter, 36, took thousands of pounds for the work from almost 70 people, some of them pensioners in th

A new statement of prosecution policy sets out the circumstances in which the use of diversion or referral are appropriate where a child has been accused of rape or other serious sexual offences. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the new document recognises the seriousness

Two men who plotted to ferry cannabis with a street value of up £1.5 million into Scotland from Europe hidden inside a lorry load of watermelons have been imprisoned for a total of 13 years and two months. Scott McSeveney, 37, masterminded the cross-border plan and enlisted HGV company owner S

A former nurse who stalked and terrified a woman after matching with her on a dating app has been jailed again – this time for breaching a non-harassment order. Adele Rennie, 34, from Kilmarnock, pled guilty at the town’s Sheriff Court yesterday. She admitted contacting a woman she had p

A sales manager from Yorkshire has been jailed for 12 years for serious sexual assaults and abuse carried out while he was living in Scotland. James McCall, 49, from Pudsey in Leeds, was found guilty of nine charges including four of rape and two of assault. The High Court in Glasgow heard that

A drugs courier who tried to smuggle cocaine worth up to £5.6 million into Scotland hidden inside two large suitcases has been jailed for 10 years. Kristopher Purvis, 35, ferried 15 packages containing the Class A drugs from Mexico to Edinburgh Airport along with another man in July 2024. But

A man who forced his way into the home of a woman before violently raping and sexually assaulting her has been jailed.  Bradley Shand was found guilty of attacking the 61-year-old following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. The court heard how the victim was home alone and watching televi

A man has been given a life sentence for murder following the death of a taxi driver he was initially convicted of assaulting. 

A former drama teacher who grossly abused his position of trust by sexually abusing three pupils has been jailed. Craig Smith previously pleaded guilty to three charges at Glasgow Sheriff Court on 21 March 2025.