DUNDEE PENSIONER CONVICTED FOR DECADES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
A paedophile pensioner has been convicted of a “pattern of sexual and violent abuse” against children in Dundee and Angus spanning four decades.Jurors heard how 73-year-old Christopher Maher preyed on two young girls generations apart.
He began molesting his first victim in the 1980s when she was around seven years old.
The sexual assaults became so routine the woman, now an adult, struggled to recall specific incidents as she gave evidence at her attacker’s trial.
Perth Sheriff Court heard how Maher used clothes pegs in his penetrative assaults, leaving his young victim in pain and suffering health problems – including bleeding – which persisted for days after.
Maher also targeted a 14-year-old girl in 2022, the court heard.
After sexually assaulting her, he sent creepy messages via social media, asking for nude photographs.
Maher, of Johnshaven, now faces prison, as well as a strict court order banning him from going near children.
At the end of a protracted two-week trial, a jury convicted Maher of four of the eight charges he faced on indictment.
The court heard how he assaulted his first victim at locations in Dundee between October 1982 and January 1993.
He used physical violence and engaged in lewd, indecent practices.
He also groped and rubbed a girl in 2022, sending explicit social media messages.
The evidence showed a pattern of systematic offending against children.
Prosecution called for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to prevent Maher from contacting minors unless supervised and from working in roles involving children.
The trial was paused while prosecutors appealed against a decision to exclude some charges, which they subsequently won.
Maher has previous convictions for domestic assault.
Sheriff Alison McKay deferred sentence for background reports, allowing Maher’s bail to continue, but warned he had reached the “threshold of custody.”
