ANDREW NESS SENTENCED IN GOREBRIDGE FOR HORRIFIC SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN AT DUNDEE HIGH COURT

In a solemn session at the High Court in Dundee, Lady Drummond delivered a heavy sentence to Andrew Ness, a resident of Gorebridge, after he pleaded guilty to a series of severe sexual offences committed against two young children over a span of six years. The court heard detailed accounts of Ness’s crimes, which included disturbing acts of abuse, some of which occurred while the victims were asleep and under the influence of intoxicants.

Lady Drummond’s remarks during sentencing painted a grim picture of Ness’s actions. She stated, "You pled guilty at a preliminary hearing to three charges on this indictment in relation to two children. You committed sexual offences against the first child over a period of six years. Some of that took place when she was awake and aware of it. You committed further offences when she was asleep and unresponsive due to the consumption of intoxicants. That came to light subsequently because you made video recordings of that abuse which were discovered by police. These offences included penetration, causing her to be present during sexual activity, causing her to masturbate you and to view pornography."

She continued, "You also committed sexual offences against another child over a period of four years. Those offences included penetration and causing her to participate in sexual activity when she was awake and aware of it. You caused her to watch a video of you sexually abusing another child. You also committed sexual offences against her when she was asleep and unresponsive due to the consumption of intoxicants. Those included raping her."

The court was informed that police had recovered numerous videos and still images depicting Ness’s sexual misconduct. Specifically, 13 videos and four still images related to the first child, filmed between June 2016 and July 2017, with most classified as Category A. The still images were categorized as B and C. For the second child, 20 videos were found, created between 2019 and 2020, with half classified as Category A and the other half as Category C. Additionally, six still images from 2020, all Category C, were recovered.

Beyond these two victims, Ness also took or allowed the taking of indecent images of other children from 2017 to 2020. The police found a total of 14 still images and four videos, with categories ranging from A to C. Three videos and three still images were classified as Category A, one video as Category B, and the remaining images as Category C.

In her sentencing remarks, Lady Drummond acknowledged the profound emotional and psychological harm inflicted upon the victims. Ness, aged 44, has a prior conviction for a drugs offence that resulted in a 16-month prison sentence. The court considered the contents of a criminal justice and social work report, noting that Ness has recently shown some empathy towards the victims and has accepted responsibility for his actions. He has previously been employed and maintained a stable relationship.

However, the court also assessed Ness as a medium risk for reoffending sexually, with a high risk if he were to have unsupervised access to young female children. Given the severity of his crimes, the court determined that only a custodial sentence would be appropriate.

Lady Drummond sentenced Ness to a total of 10 years for the combined charges, but this was reduced to 7 years and 6 months due to his guilty plea. For the additional charge, he received a concurrent sentence of 18 months, reduced from 24 months because of his plea at an earlier stage. The sentence was backdated to March 4, 2022, the date he was first remanded in custody. Furthermore, Ness will be subject to indefinite notification requirements as a sex offender, and his name will be added to the register of individuals deemed unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups.