SANDY ROSS FROM GOREBRIDGE SENTENCED IN PETERHEAD AND FIFE FOR SEX OFFENDER BREACHES

Sandy Ross, a known sex offender from Gorebridge, has been sentenced to jail after a series of violations of court orders designed to restrict his contact with women and prevent further offending. His latest incarceration follows an incident where he deliberately breached a court-imposed restriction by attempting to communicate with women online, despite strict conditions placed upon him.

Ross, aged 32, who is currently held in HMP Grampian on remand, appeared in court last week to face charges related to his violation of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). The order, which was issued at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in May 2021, strictly prohibited him from engaging in any form of electronic communication with women without prior notification to the police. Despite these restrictions, Ross was found to have added two women to Facebook group chats, attempting to speak with them electronically. Additionally, he caused significant alarm and fear to a teenage girl when he showed up at her residence in Gorebridge wielding a weapon.

Earlier in 2021, Ross’s criminal record was further scrutinized when police discovered he had been in possession of an illicit burner phone while staying in Fife. This device was not declared to authorities, violating the terms of his SOPO. The police found the phone while executing a search at a property in High Valleyfield’s Pentland Terrace, where Ross was staying with a friend. The investigation revealed that Ross had asked the friend to call his so-called “girlfriend,” with whom he had been engaging in illegal contact, despite the restrictions placed upon him.

On August 9, police officers responded to a call at the residence in High Valleyfield, where they found Ross in possession of a Samsung mobile phone. A witness confirmed that she had given Ross the phone on July 30, during his stay at her home, and had advised him to declare it to authorities, which he refused to do. Ross was taken into custody, and during questioning, he admitted to breaching another condition of his SOPO, which required him to inform offender management officers of any females he communicated with online or electronically within 72 hours.

In a further breach, Ross attempted to inform his “girlfriend” of his arrest, which police later discovered was a fabricated relationship. Facebook messages retrieved from his seized phone, dating back to August 1, showed that Ross had been communicating with a woman via messages and video calls. Police contacted the woman, who clarified that she was not in a relationship with Ross, although he believed they were. She also stated that Ross had been planning to visit her in West Lothian.

Ross’s defense solicitor, Martin Hughes, described his client’s behavior as driven by a compulsive need, noting that the relationship was entirely in Ross’s mind. The solicitor also highlighted Ross’s young age, 28 at the time, and the depressing nature of his repeated offending.

Judge Pino Di Emidio sentenced Ross to one year in prison, backdating the sentence to August 18, when Ross was remanded. The judge emphasized the seriousness of Ross’s violations, stating, “You have pled guilty to two charges. You have a number of analogous convictions. It should, I hope, be clear to you that the penalties for this will only escalate if this continues.”

Ross’s criminal history is extensive. Earlier in 2021, he was jailed for attacking his former partner and threatening to petrol bomb her family’s homes. In 2020, police issued warnings to the public about Ross’s links to Fife, the Borders, and the Lothians, as he was the subject of a manhunt. His previous convictions also include a 2019 jail sentence at Jedburgh Sheriff Court for breaching another SOPO, highlighting a pattern of repeated offending and violations of court orders.