RICHARD GALLAGHER AND SCOTT SINCLAIR SENTENCED IN EDINBURGH FOR ABUSE AND SHARING VICTIM'S VIDEO

Two men, Scott Sinclair and Richard Gallagher, have received prison sentences after sharing a video depicting their sexual abuse of a young boy in Edinburgh. Sinclair, aged 30, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Gallagher, aged 27, was sentenced to 7 years. Both men pleaded guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault related to the abuse that occurred in April 2014.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Sinclair began abusing the victim when he was just 8 years old, starting at an address in Falkirk in June 2007. It was revealed that from 2011 onward, Sinclair had been recording videos of himself sexually assaulting the boy. Sinclair later met Gallagher through a dating site, and the two partners together sexually abused the victim in Edinburgh in 2014. Following the abuse, Gallagher shared the footage with another man named Robert Stewart, whose phone contained the video, leading Stewart to admit to possessing indecent images.

The court described the abuse as ‘horrific,’ and the judge emphasized, ‘It is one of the most vile examples of abuse I have ever encountered.’ Although the impact on the victim remains unknown, the court imposed lengthy custodial sentences to protect the public. A detective from Police Scotland’s cybercrime unit pointed out that Sinclair and Gallagher held responsibility for a ‘horrific’ level of sexual abuse, and their sharing of the footage further added to the young victim’s suffering.