CHILD ABUSER JAILED FOR SIX YEARS
A MAN accused of getting a kick out of forcing girls he abused to relive their ordeals in court was yesterday jailed for six years.A judge heard how Joseph Orr, 52, preyed on neighbours' children for almost 10 years while seeming to be a pillar of the church and local community.
He used family trips to the swimming baths, the budgerigars he kept at his Airdrie home and other treats to get his way with the youngsters, then aged between five and 11.
His victims finally told their stories at Airdrie Sheriff Court last month, shielded by a curtain from Orr sitting in the dock.
At the end of a four-day trial, when Orr was found guilty of five charges of indecent conduct, Sheriff Robert Dickson said he would be haunted by the sight and sound of a young girl sobbing through her evidence.
''You took perverted pleasure watching your victims go through the agony of giving evidence,'' he told Orr.
But at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday - where Orr had been sent for a stiffer sentence that the sheriff's three year maximum - his lawyer denied Orr had been making facial expressions which indicated he was enjoying the proceedings at the sheriff court.
Defence advocate Fiona Davies said Orr still denied abusing the girls, in spite of the jury's verdicts.
Lord Cullen, passing sentence, said he was taking into account Orr's background and the fact that he had suffered in various ways - but the charges were extremely serious.
