Copfs

A man who inflicted 48 separate injuries on a teenage girl during a violent rape at a music festival in Edinburgh has been jailed. James Leckie, of Musselburgh, attacked the 16-year-old shortly after meeting her at the event in Princes Street Gardens on 16 September 2023.

A woman who kept more than 20 dogs and puppies in squalid conditions inside stables and farm outhouses has been fined a total of £1,975 and banned from keeping dogs for three years. Several dogs belonging to Jamie-Lee Harper, 36, were matted and dirty and left to sleep on concrete floors in da

A rapist who sexually abused three vulnerable women in the space of nine months has been jailed for a minimum of four years and six months before he will be eligible for parole.  David Ekpe was found guilty of three charges on 19 November 2024 following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.&n

The establishment of a 'lived experience board' is among the proposals made by Susanne Tanner KC in a new report on the way in which the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) deals with sexual offences. The review of the approach of the Crown Office to these cases was commissioned by Lo

Senior prosecutors are warning that puppies bought from illegal breeders as Christmas presents are helping to bankroll serious organised crime gangs. Unlawfully bred dogs sold through a black-market trade on social media or small advert sites have been identified as a significant source of revenue f

A woman who attacked a 97-year-old man in his home and caused injuries from which he later died has been jailed for more than six years. William Lambie suffered a fractured thigh after Tandy Swinton, 44, assaulted him in his Dundee flat while demanding money. He underwent surgery in hospital but die

A retired Fornethy House teacher who systematically abused vulnerable young children in her care over the course of 15 years has been sentenced. Patricia Robertson, now known as Baxter, abused girls aged five to 12 while volunteering and later working at the residential school in Angus. 

A Highland physics teacher exploited a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with a female pupil. David Vincent’s criminal behaviour took place over the course of 18 months after meeting the child at the high school where he worked.

The director of a Christian charity radio company who defrauded thousands of pounds from a former partner has been jailed for 22 months. Andrew Polson, 53, of Bearsden, Dunbartonshire, was found guilty by a jury of stealing £186,000 from the 72-year-old woman between May 2021 and March 2022.

A man who tried to kill a woman and two children has had his sentence increased following an appeal by the Crown. Steven Phillipson was found guilty of four charges, including attempted murder, following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh earlier this year.

A man who supplied drugs and offered to source deadly weapons to criminal associates has been jailed for six years following a prosecution by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).  Glasgow garage owner Kristopher Kinnaird, 42, supplied cocaine worth around £120,000 every

A rapist who targeted three women during a campaign of serious sexual offending lasting just over a month has been jailed. Mihai-Nicolae Patran was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and sexual exposure following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

A man who kept owls and large birds of prey tethered inside tiny cages amid squalid conditions has been banned from owning or keeping animals for five years. Brandon Hodge, 28, was sentenced at Greenock Sheriff Court after he admitted two charges of animal neglect.

A man who murdered his wife on New Year’s Day has been jailed for life. Mompati Dodo Isaacs stabbed Keotshepile Naso Isaacs, known as Naso, to death at the family home in North Berwick on 1 January 2024.

A man who sexually assaulted two young girls after dragging them off the street in a bid to rape them has been jailed for over six years. Regan McClinton followed and attacked both children within less than 30 minutes of each other in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, on 22 April 2023.