LEE MURRAY INVERNESS PAEDOPHILE SENTENCE DOUBLED AFTER JUDICIAL OVERRULE

An individual from Inverness, identified as Lee Murray, has seen a substantial increase in his prison sentence following a legal challenge that questioned the original court's assessment of his crimes. Murray, aged 53, exploited his position as a football coach in Inverness to establish communication with a young girl through text messages when she was only 12 or 13 years old in 2019. His misconduct escalated to the point of committing rape when she was 15 years old.

Initially, Murray was sentenced to five years in prison last September after being convicted of rape along with three other sexual offenses. However, the Crown Office appealed the sentence, arguing that the judge's conclusion—that the victim 'enjoyed' the sexual acts and participated willingly—was flawed and did not accurately reflect the circumstances of the case.

Following the appeal, a panel of three judges in Edinburgh reviewed the case and disagreed with the original judge, Lord Sandison. They found that his interpretation of the victim’s text messages was incorrect. The court clarified that these messages, which Murray had sent to the girl, were a result of grooming behavior rather than genuine consent or enjoyment. The victim herself had expressed negative feelings about the abuse in her statement, but the original judge had interpreted her responses as evidence of participation.

Lady Dorrian, the Lord Justice Clerk, emphasized that the jury had accepted that consent was not freely given by the victim. She pointed out that the sexualized messages Murray sent did not reflect her true feelings and were part of his manipulative grooming process. The appellate judges also challenged Lord Sandison’s assertion that Murray had not engaged in grooming or shown a specific sexual interest in children. They highlighted that Murray had previously groomed two older children and had sought advice on how abusers manipulate young victims, which clearly indicated predatory tendencies.

As a result of the appeal, Lady Dorrian increased Murray’s sentence from five years to nine years, with an additional three years on extended supervision. Murray is expected to serve part of his sentence in prison and the remainder under community supervision. Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Murray took the girl to various locations for sexual encounters. Court records also disclosed an explicit message from Murray stating, “My wee girl you are so cute I can’t f***ing wait to see you babe.”

Further proceedings uncovered that Murray used his role at Thistle Girls FC to groom the girl, in addition to seeking advice from child abuse prevention experts on how abusers manipulate children and the tricks they use. Murray’s legal team did not oppose the Crown’s request for a longer sentence. The case also involved Murray’s contact with a decoy posing as a 14-year-old girl, with whom he exchanged thousands of messages, some increasingly sexual in nature. This contact was ultimately interrupted during a street sting operation. During police interviews, Murray admitted that he knew his actions were wrong, describing his behavior as “disgusting” and expressing remorse.

The victim’s statement detailed the severe emotional and psychological impact of the abuse, including struggles with mental health, school performance, sleep disturbances, mood swings, and anger. Despite these challenges, she expressed her determination to recover and move forward with the support of professionals and loved ones.