ROBERT MARSHALL PLEA NED FOR CHILD ABUSE IN PLEAN

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the community of Plean, Robert Marshall, a forestry worker, was found guilty of heinous crimes involving the abuse of young girls. The trial, held at the High Court in Edinburgh, revealed disturbing details about Marshall’s predatory behavior that spanned several decades.

According to court proceedings, Marshall, aged 52 at the time of the trial, had sneaked into a bedroom where he was staying in Plean and indecently touched the young girls while they were asleep. One of the victims, a girl who was only five years old at the time, recounted how Marshall’s rough hands slipped beneath her covers and forcibly spread her legs. Her testimony painted a disturbing picture of the assault, which she vividly remembered despite the passage of time.

Marshall vehemently denied the allegations, claiming that he was innocent. He argued that he always wore safety gloves while working as a woodcutter, emphasizing that his chainsaw had a smooth plastic handle, which he insisted made his hands appear different from those described by the victims. During questioning, he told advocate depute Alison Di Rollo that his hands were “quite smooth,” despite his outdoor manual labor, attempting to cast doubt on the accusations.

However, the jury was not convinced by his defense. They found him guilty of five separate charges of indecency, which dated back to the early 1980s. The charges included disturbing incidents where Marshall was accused of molesting girls aged four, five, seven, and nine while they were in their beds. One particularly disturbing charge involved him forcing the oldest girl to perform oral sex on him. Additionally, he was convicted of taking a four-year-old girl from her bedroom while she was dressed only in her nightclothes, and of allowing an unidentified man to abuse her while others watched, further highlighting the severity of his crimes.

The court also learned that Marshall had previously served as a woodcutter after being discharged from the Army following a court martial that was initiated due to a series of assaults. Despite these past allegations, he had no convictions following his military discharge. The judge, Lady Scott, ordered that background reports be prepared before sentencing and remanded Marshall, who is married and resides at Windyhill, West Plean, into custody pending the final sentencing hearing.