Lee Taylor, a 43-year-old man from Dingwall, was convicted by a jury at Inverness Sheriff Court of a series of sexual offences committed against children and an adult woman in the Highland and Moray regions between 2022 and 2023. The charges included engaging in sexual activity with or towards a girl under 16, sexually assaulting a boy under 13, directing sexual verbal communication to a boy under 16, and sexually assaulting a woman by touching her buttocks and private parts.
The court heard harrowing evidence from one of Taylor's young victims, a girl under 16 at the time, who described how Taylor targeted her during innocent play activities. During 'play fights', Taylor touched her breast while tickling her, laughing as she moved away in discomfort. On another occasion, as she played with Lego, Taylor sat next to her and stroked her leg, causing her to shuffle away. The girl recounted an incident inside a tent where Taylor, who had been drinking, attempted to enter and jokingly referred to himself as a 'nonce' when asked for a password. The charges detailed repeated instances of Taylor grabbing and cupping her breasts, holding her hands, stroking her leg, pulling her body towards him, rubbing her back before moving his hand towards her buttocks, lying on top of her, and addressing sexual remarks to her, including referring to himself as a paedophile.
Taylor also targeted a boy under 13 by repeatedly touching him on the body and stomach, touching his penis and crotch area over clothing, and pulling him to prevent him from moving away. He directed intentional sexual communications towards this boy and another under 16, uttering sexual remarks and again referring to himself as a paedophile. In one instance, upon learning that a teenage boy under 16 was gay, Taylor responded, 'Yeah, I know, the first time I saw him I wanted to f*** him.' Additionally, Taylor was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman by touching her buttocks and private parts.
At the sentencing hearing this week, defence solicitor advocate Sandy Orgill argued that Taylor's 'considerable difficulties with alcohol' were behind his behaviour and that he maintained his denial of the charges. Orgill noted that Taylor had modified his alcohol consumption after the offences came to light, claiming no memory of the events. Fiscal depute Miriam Clark presented the prosecution evidence, including the victims' testimonies.
Sheriff Gary Aitken opted not to impose a custodial sentence, instead placing Taylor on a community payback order with three years of social work supervision, requiring him to complete 300 hours of unpaid work in the community, and mandating participation in the Moving Forward 2 Change programme for sexual offenders. Taylor must also adhere to conditions controlling his living arrangements and limiting contact with children, and he will remain on the sex offenders register for three years. The sheriff remarked, 'This is little doubt in my mind that, had you been sober, none of this would have happened. The mass consumption of alcohol that you were engaging in clearly robbed you of any common sense and any sense of propriety. Nothing can undo the damage that you have done as a result of your offending – we need to ensure that it never happens again.'
Outside the court, parents of two victims expressed profound disappointment with the non-custodial outcome. One mother told the Press and Journal, 'The destruction of three children’s lives is well worth a custodial sentence. A community payback order isn’t enough to cover the hurt and pain and suffering that my children are going to have to live with for the rest of their lives. Alcohol is not an excuse for sexual molestation or any other sexual misconduct. For us as a family, prison was the only viable option to protect the community at large and to let people know that this is not something that you can get away with. A custodial sentence was the only option in our eyes – we are quite disappointed by the outcome.'