EX-INVERNESS PRISON GUARD CONVICTED OF CHILD SEX ABUSE
A former Inverness prison officer named Melvin Walker, aged 78, has been found guilty of child sex abuse crimes committed between 1980 and 1984.He faced charges related to sexual misconduct with a girl aged between 12 and 16 while he was employed as a guard at HMP Inverness.
The victim testified how Walker's behavior initially appeared as playfighting but soon changed, with her feeling that he was aroused.
She described how the abuse escalated to exposing himself, inducing her to touch him, and abusing her while "spooning" her.
The incidents left her feeling confused and scared, especially since Walker was a large man and a heavyweight boxer.
She struggled with feelings of fear and shame, resorting to smoking, drinking heavily, and self-harm, and even contemplating suicide.
During a 2016 confrontation, she accused him of his actions, saying, "You realise there is no forgiveness for what you did?" Walker repeatedly denied the accusations, claiming the incidents did not happen and that she and other witnesses were mistaken.
Despite his denials, a jury took only approximately two hours to reach a unanimous guilty verdict.
Sheriff Sara Matheson placed Walker on the sex offenders register immediately and deferred sentencing until the following month to prepare pre-sentencing reports.
Walker's bail was allowed to continue until the sentencing, with the sheriff warning him that this did not indicate his final outcome.
