Copfs

A rapist who systematically groomed and abused eight vulnerable young girls over the course of 16 years has been jailed. Gary MacPherson was found guilty of 22 charges, including rape, on 12 May 2025 following a trial at the High Court in Paisley.

A man who tried to murder his estranged wife by driving over her twice with his car has had his prison sentence increased following a successful Crown appeal. William Budge was previously jailed for seven years and four months in February 2025 after earlier pleading guilty to three charges at the Hi

A man who subjected two young women and a newborn baby to a campaign of violence and abuse has been jailed. Jay Dixon, 22, from Dundee, carried out a series of cruel acts on a four-week-old boy while controlling and degrading the child’s mother. A nurse noticed extensive bruising on the infant

Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has defended the presumption against prosecuting children accused of rape amid a call for offenders under 16 to be treated as adults. Appearing before Holyrood's Public Petitions Committee yesterday, Ms Bain defended the Crown Office's policy of offering "diversion" as

A fraudster who earned more than £500,000 by deceiving luxury hotels and stores into buying ‘unique’ Scottish-grown tea that was actually imported has been imprisoned for three-and-a-half years. Thomas Robinson, 55, of Dunkeld, Perthshire, also defrauded a group of genuine Scottish

A man who raped a 15-year-old girl after following her on a street in Falkirk has been jailed. Sadeq Nikzad was found guilty on 5 March 2025 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Pupils from St Aidan’s High School, Wishaw, are celebrating winning this year’s Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) schools public speaking competition. 

A 29-year-old skipper has been fined for causing serious damage to a fishing boat when he fell asleep after drinking. Shaun MacInnes, from Eriskay, was in charge of the FV Annette when it ran aground on the Isle of Rum on 31 March 2022.

A drugs trafficker who tried to smuggle cannabis worth more than £1 million into Scotland from a car ferry has been jailed for three years and two months. Police officers discovered the controlled drugs after carrying out a search of Chace Cappellie’s vehicle at the Stena Line port at Ca

A man who coated pheasant carcasses in rat poison to bait and injure other legally protected wildlife has been ordered to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work. Clive Burgoyne, 38, of Forfar, carried out the crime as part of an ongoing feud with a local landowner over shooting rights. He hoped tha

Four men convicted of bribery and corrupt practices over the awarding of NHS contracts worth £6 million have been imprisoned for a total of 29 years. Alan Hush, 68, Adam Sharoudi, 41, Gavin Brown, 48, and Gavin Cox, 60, were convicted by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow following an investi

A former office worker jailed for defrauding two construction companies has been ordered to pay back more than £80,000 under proceeds of crime laws. Stephanni Houston, 41, of Ayr, was sentenced to 38 months in prison in November 2023 for embezzling over £516,000 from two construction com

Three Scottish secondary schools will this month battle it out in the final of a public speaking contest. Pupils from St Andrews in Fife, Trinity High School, Renfrew, and St Aidan’s High School in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, will go head-to-head for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service&rsq

A woman jailed for stealing thousands of pounds from a children’s charity and a family-run coffee firm has been ordered to repay more than £36,000 under proceeds of crime laws. In January 2025, Beverley Bennie, 37, was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment after she admitted embezzl

Two drug traffickers who tried to smuggle cannabis with a street value of almost £600,000 into Scotland on a flight from Canada have been jailed for a total of five years and six months. Jamaal Darbasie, 27, and George Manton, 19, were stopped by UK Border Force officers when they arrived at G