ALLAN MCLEOD SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR HORRIFIC ABUSE IN EAST KILBRIDE

In a case that has shocked the community of East Kilbride, Allan McLeod, a 44-year-old man, has been handed a life sentence after being convicted of a series of heinous sexual offenses spanning nearly a decade. The High Court in Glasgow heard harrowing details of McLeod's crimes, which involved the sexual abuse of two young sisters and a disabled boy, all while he was entrusted with their care as a babysitter.

Judge Michael O’Grady, QC, presiding over the case, described McLeod’s conduct as “an appalling course of criminal conduct,” emphasizing the severity and prolonged nature of his offenses. The judge imposed a lifelong restriction order on McLeod, alongside a minimum prison term of four years, underscoring the high risk he poses to the public. In his sentencing remarks, Judge O’Grady stated, “For little short of a decade, for your own gratification, you horribly abused these children with regularity and cynicism.”

McLeod’s crimes took place predominantly in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, where he repeatedly assaulted the victims during his babysitting duties. The abuse was carried out every Saturday, with McLeod exploiting his position of trust in the children’s homes. The court heard that the abuse began when one of the girls was just six years old, and continued as she grew older, with her being raped between the ages of 14 and 15. Her sister was also sexually abused from the age of eight, with her rape occurring over a three-year period from ages 12 to 15. Additionally, McLeod sexually assaulted a disabled boy over a two-year span from December 2002 to 2004, when he was between 12 and 13 years old.

Further disturbing incidents included McLeod exposing himself to one of the girls and performing a sex act on himself in the car park of a Morrisons supermarket in East Kilbride, between June 2006 and June 2008. He also sexually abused two other young girls, aged seven, with one victim being assaulted on a single occasion and the other twice. Throughout the trial, McLeod maintained his innocence, claiming that his victims had fabricated the allegations against him.

At the conclusion of the trial, the temporary judge expressed his condemnation of McLeod’s actions, stating that he had been convicted of “the most appalling crimes.” The judge remarked, “You have blighted their childhood. Even during the most distressing evidence, you have shown not a flicker of emotion.”

McLeod was scheduled to be sentenced at the High Court in Livingston on a Monday, but his legal representatives requested a delay to allow for further risk assessments from two medical experts. The court granted this request, postponing the sentencing until February 8 of the following year at the High Court in Edinburgh. Currently, McLeod remains on remand and is already listed on the sex offenders register, reflecting the gravity of his crimes and the ongoing concern for community safety.