A MAN WHO SEXUALLY ASSAULTED TWO YOUNG SISTERS OVER THIRTY YEARS AGO HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO THREE YEARS IN PRISON.
A man who sexually assaulted two young sisters over thirty years ago has been sentenced to three years in prison.The incident involved a babysitter, James Diamond, who carried out the assaults at the family’s former residence in a mining village in West Lothian.
One of the victims was raped once when she was approximately 11 years old, while the other girl, was subjected to multiple assaults between the ages of 11 and 14.
During the High Court hearing in Edinburgh, the judge, Lord Uist, acknowledged that both women had suffered significant emotional damage and revealed that neither felt able to discuss their experiences until many years later.
The judge also considered the long elapsed time since the offenses and Diamond’s age at the time of the incidents.
One of the victims testified that she attempted to take her own life following the abuse, describing her life as being shattered by what happened.
Diamond, formerly from Kennoway in Fife, denied the charges of raping the two women, but was found guilty of both offenses.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.
