A judge says Hugh Derby acted in a 'predatory manner' in targeting his vulnerable victims.
A persistent sex offender who acted in a "premeditated and predatory manner" has been jailed for 12 years.He took part in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl at a flat in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire, after she was intoxicated with drink and drugs.A judge told Derby, formerly of Auchinleck, that he had been convicted of "grave and serious charges".
He had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was convicted of four offences of sexual assault, one of sexual activity towards an underage girl and one of indecent assault and rape. He claimed that some victims had consented and that on other occasions the offences did not take place at all. But he was found guilty by a jury.Judge Thomas Welsh KC told him: "You clearly acted in a premeditated and predatory manner, identifying and isolating your victims when they were most vulnerable and unable to resist your approaches."
He said one woman had been attacked by Derby in 2013 while on a camping expedition at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire. His offending began in 2000 when he took part in an indecent assault and rape of the 15-year-old girl in Auchinleck with others.Two years later he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child and later molested the same girl at a Calvin Harris concert in Glasgow.Defence counsel Ian Duguid KC said it was "inevitable" that Derby would face a prison sentence following his convictions.In addition to his jail term, Derby was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
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