YOUNG MAN JAILED FOR ABUSING UNDERAGE GIRLS IN MUSSELBURGH
Alexander Borthwick, a 20-year-old man from West Barns, was sentenced after being found guilty of multiple charges related to sexual offences involving underage girls.During the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, it was revealed that Borthwick had sex with four underage schoolgirls and raped one of them when she was 15.
One victim described how he assaulted her at a flat in Portobello and continued even after she asked him to stop, saying, "I couldn't get him to stop.
He is a lot stronger than me." Although he denied several charges, Borthwick was convicted of six counts of underage sexual activity, one count of sexual activity with a girl under 16, and one count of rape.
He was acquitted of a separate charge involving a 12-year-old girl in Musselburgh in October 2015.
His offending occurred mainly in Musselburgh and Portobello between 2016 and 2018.
The court noted that his crimes were "very serious indeed," and Borthwick was remanded in custody.
He also disclosed to the court that he was gay but was trying to hide his sexuality during the offenses, stating, "I knew I was gay but tried to hide it." The victim who was 14 at the time described how Borthwick took her into a bedroom and pressured her into sex after kissing her, with her saying, "He told me not to say anything." Borthwick is now on the sex offenders register and will face sentencing next month.
