CRAIG WALLACE AND HIS SHOCKING CRIMES IN LANARKSHIRE

A woman who was a victim of Craig Wallace, a bus driver from Lanarkshire, has spoken emotionally about her relief now that he has been convicted of multiple serious offenses after nearly 20 years. Naomi Gibson, now 31 and a mother of two, recalled her harrowing experience as a young girl when she was just 11 years old. She bravely reported that Wallace assaulted her during a family trip in a van while they were attending a football match, an incident that took place when Wallace was acting as a driver for her family.

Despite her courage in speaking out, there initially was not enough evidence to secure a conviction, and Wallace, who had assaulted Naomi, was free for decades. Tragically, he went on to commit similar offenses against two other children over a period of 15 years. Naomi’s accounts of these events make her a notable voice in seeking justice, as she has chosen to waive her right to anonymity to encourage other victims of abuse to come forward. She expressed her feelings of being haunted by the fact that her abuser was not stopped sooner and voiced her sorrow for the other girls who suffered at his hands.

On Friday, Wallace, now 41 years old, was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow. The convictions include charges of sexual abuse involving three children, which prosecutors detailed spanned from 2003 to 2018. During the trial, Wallace denied all charges but was ultimately convicted of lewd and libidinous conduct towards Naomi in her father’s van in Hamilton, Lanarkshire. He also was convicted of raping another girl at a residence in the same town, and was found guilty of the sexual assault, attempted rape, and rape of a third child in Douglas, also in Lanarkshire.

The legal proceedings revealed that Wallace’s crimes covered a span of more than a decade and a half. He was described as a close family friend and was known to Naomi before the attacks as ‘uncle Craig’. Naomi recounted that he took advantage of moments when he was alone with her during family outings and trips to watch youth football matches at Hamilton Palace grounds. In 2003, Wallace exploited a situation in her father’s van, where he subjected her to a 45-minute ordeal of assault after asking invasive questions and requesting to see a scar on her chest. Disturbingly, Wallace continued to physically touch her on the way home, with her father sitting just inches away.

Naomi from Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, detailed her feelings about her abuser’s duplicitous nature. She explained that Wallace’s outward appearance was deceptively trusting, describing him as someone who could easily pass as benign, but whose eyes showed a different, more sinister side. After the assault, Naomi confided in her mother, and her family subsequently reported the incident to the police. She expressed her gratitude for the police officers who handled her case, particularly one who went above and beyond to support her, though she acknowledged the initial lack of sufficient evidence.

Her story took a darker turn when her family faced threats and vandalism, believed to be retaliatory acts by supporters of Wallace. These threats forced her family to be moved to a police safe house to ensure their safety. Throughout the emotional process, Wallace remained on bail during his trial, with the court ultimately adjourning sentencing until next month. He was ordered to be detained in custody until then and was placed on the sex offenders register.

Naomi reflected on the long journey to justice, expressing that it had yet to fully sink in that Wallace was finally behind bars. She described the experience as both freeing and heartbreaking—relieved that her ordeal was over but devastated that Wallace continued offending against other girls. She firmly voiced her belief that if Wallace were to be released again, he would likely repeat these heinous acts, which underscores the importance of her advocacy and the pursuit of justice.