STEWART GALBRAITH OBAN SEX OFFENDER BUSTED IN SCOTLAND AFTER BREACH OF TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

In August 2002, Stewart Galbraith, a man with a long history of sexual offenses and known to be a high-risk predatory paedophile, was sentenced to prison after violating strict travel restrictions imposed on him by a sex offender order. The incident took place in Oban, where Galbraith, aged 63, was caught and subsequently brought before the courts in Edinburgh.

Galbraith’s legal troubles stem from a series of breaches of a lifelong sex offender order issued at Inverness Sheriff Court in October 2001. This order explicitly prohibited him from traveling outside the police jurisdiction where he was registered without prior notification to law enforcement authorities. Additionally, he was barred from driving a vehicle unless he provided police with detailed information about the car’s make, model, color, and registration number. These restrictions were put in place due to his extensive criminal record, which includes indecency offenses against young girls and multiple prison sentences, the most recent being in 1999.

Despite these restrictions, Galbraith was found to have traveled to Manchester a few weeks after the order was issued, breaching the provisions of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act. For this violation, he was sentenced to three months in prison last November. After completing his sentence in Scotland, he registered with the police in Greater Manchester. However, in June of that year, authorities discovered that he had left his registered address without informing them, raising suspicions about his whereabouts.

The following day, police in Oban spotted Galbraith driving a car. When they attempted to stop him, he accelerated rapidly, weaving dangerously through traffic, jumping a red light, and refusing to pull over. The police managed to halt his vehicle after a high-speed chase. Galbraith was then brought before Sheriff Douglas Small in Oban, where the sheriff recognized that the maximum three-year sentence for such breaches was insufficient. Consequently, the case was referred to the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing, where the maximum penalty for breaching a sex offender order is five years.

During the court proceedings, background reports painted a disturbing picture of Galbraith as a predatory paedophile who posed a significant threat to children. The court was informed that he had a history of indecency offenses against young girls and had served prison terms of up to three years. The sheriff emphasized that Galbraith’s actions demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to adhere to the conditions of his sex offender order, highlighting the importance of enforcing such restrictions to protect the public.

Lord Kingarth, presiding over the case at the High Court in Edinburgh, sentenced Galbraith to nine months in prison for the breach of the travel restrictions. He also ordered that Galbraith remain under supervision for four months following his release. In addition, Galbraith received a further three-month sentence for dangerous driving, reflecting the reckless manner in which he had attempted to evade police. The judge made it clear that Galbraith’s history and behavior warranted strict supervision and that his case underscored the ongoing risks posed by individuals with such criminal backgrounds.