April 2016 Sex offender who attempted to lure young girls appeals against punishment A sex offender who attempted to lure young girls to his home with the promise of ice cream and money has tried to have part of his punishment removed. Biju Mathew was put on the sex offenders register, placed under supervision and ordered to take part in the moving forward making changes programme after he was convicted of preying on schoolgirls at an Aberdeen park. But yesterday he tried to plead with a sheriff to put a halt the social work involvement as he felt it was “too hard”. Mathew approached the schoolgirls in August 3, 2014 and asked them for a kiss. He also made explicit and sexual comments towards the pair before trying to tempt them away from the play equipment. When the girls rejected him, the father-of-three tried to entice them into visiting his home by offering them £25 each and ice cream. Mathew even gave them his address and pointed out his house from the park. The Indian national denied committing the offences and claimed the children fabricated the story as they were racist towards him and his sons. But Sheriff Kenneth Stewart took just two minutes to find the devout Catholic guilty “without any hesitation” after trial. He said the details the children gave during their evidence about what was said by Mathew could have “only come from the lips of the accused”. Yesterday Mathew, of 34 Balgownie Way, Aberdeen, appeared back in the dock at the city’s sheriff court so Sheriff William Taylor could be told of his progress. Representing the sex offender, solicitor Mike Allan said his client was really struggling with his punishment due to the language barrier and that he needed an interpreter for every session. He said his Mathew was finding the consultations “too hard”. The court heard since Mathew was sentenced his wife and children had left and moved to England. Mr Allan said his client, who suffered from diabetes, heart and liver problems was also struggling to look after himself and complete his punishment at the same time. Sheriff Taylor said: “My reading of the report is ‘oh gosh, this is really difficult because I need an interpreter’ and that’s about it. That is not a good enough reason for me to remove the supervision requirement.” He refused to remove the supervision element. January 2016 Pervert who tried to lure two young girls to his home avoids prison A sex offender who tried to lure two young girls to his home with the promise of ice cream and money has been spared jail – despite fears he can not be rehabilitated. Biju Mathew preyed on the primary school pupils as the hung from a climbing frame in an Aberdeen park. After approaching them to ask for a kiss, he made explicit and sexual comments towards the pair before trying to tempt them away from the play equipment. When the girls rejected him, the father-of-three tried to entice them into visiting his home by offering them £25 each and ice cream. Mathew even gave them his address and pointed out his house from the park. The Indian national denied committing the offences and claimed the children fabricated the story as they were racist towards him and his sons. But Sheriff Kenneth Stewart took just two minutes to find the devout Catholic guilty “without any hesitation” after trial. He said the details the children gave during their evidence about what was said by Mathew could have “only come from the lips of the accused”. Yesterday Mathew, of Balgownie Way, Aberdeen, appeared back in the dock at the city’s sheriff court for sentence after failing to appear late last year. The court heard that since his conviction in October the 43-year-old had failed to accept his guilt. Sheriff William Taylor said that as a result he was struggling to find an alternative way to deal with him other than by imposing a custodial sentence. The court heard that the normal way to treat sex offenders such as Mathew would be to place them on a rehabilitation programme, however the sheriff said social workers did not think he would comply as he still believed he was innocent. Representing the dad yesterday, solicitor Mike Allan said that although his client still thought he was innocent he had now accepted he was found guilty after trial. He said that Mathew would be willing to comply with any conditions placed on him. Sheriff Taylor agreed to place him under supervision for two years and ordered that he take part in the “Moving Forward, Making Changes” programme aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders. However, the sheriff said he would review Mathew’s progress in three months and if he had not complied he would be jailed. Mathew was also placed on the sex offenders register for two years. Following the trial a relative of the children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the incident has left the girls “too scared to close their eyes at night”. She said: “My one is keeping me up every night. “She will not go to sleep unless I lie down with her. “The other is now starting to wet the bed. Something she hadn’t done before this.” She said it was “terrifying” to think would may have happened if the children had not sensed something was wrong. She added: “You know what children are like, they don’t know the proper value of money and £25 is a lot. I’m just glad they didn’t end up going to his house.” During the trial, the court heard from the father of one of the girls, who confronted Mathew after they told him what he had said on August 3 last year. The 26-year-old told the court that he had been furious when he approached Matthew and demanded to know what had been happening. The court heard that at that point Mathew, formerly of Marchbank Place, Aberdeen, claimed he could not speak English and started crying. The man then waited in the park with Mathew while his girlfriend called the police. October 2015 Man tried to lure children from Aberdeen playpark A dad who attempted to lure two young girls from an Aberdeen park with the promise of ice cream and money has been placed on the sex offenders’ register. Biju Mathew preyed on the primary school pupils as they played next to his sons on a climbing frame near the city’s Waulkmill Crescent. And last night, a relative of the girls – who are just nine and eight – revealed they were still haunted by the incident, and are now too scared to play outside on their own. Mathew approached the girls as they were hanging from the play equipment and made explicit and sexual comments towards them before repeatedly asking for a kiss. When the girls rejected him, the father-of-three tried to tempt them into visiting his home by offering them £25 each and ice cream. He even gave them his address and pointed out his house from the park. Mathew’s actions scared the girls and they raised the alarm with one of their parents, who then contacted the police. The Indian national denied the two child sex offences, and had been on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He claimed the children had fabricated the story as they were being racist towards him and his sons. But yesterday Sheriff Kenneth Stewart took just two minutes to find the 43-year-old guilty, and said his two victims had been credible and reliable when they gave evidence. He said the details the children gave during their evidence about what was said by Mathew that day could have “only come from the lips of the accused”. Last night a relative of the children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the incident has had a significant impact on their lives. She said: “My one is keeping me up every night. She is too scared to close her eyes and will not go to sleep unless I lie down with her. The other is now starting to wet the bed. Something she hadn’t done before this. “It is coming up for the October holidays soon and the are too scared to go out and play now. Plus he made them go through the pressure of giving evidence in the trial. “I am pleased the sheriff believed their evidence but it is terrifying to think what may have happened if they hadn’t had the sense to tell someone. You know what children are like, they don’t know the proper value of money and £25 is a lot. I’m just glad they didn’t end up going to his house.” During the trial, the court heard from the father of one of the girls, who confronted Mathew after they told him what he had said on August 3 this year. The 26-year-old told the court he had been furious when he approached Matthew, a devout Catholic, and demanded to know what had been happening. The court heard that at that point Mathew, of 17 Marchbank Place, Aberdeen, claimed he could not speak English and started crying. The man then waited in the park with the sex offender while his girlfriend called the police. He told the court: “It took me a while to register what was actually happening when they told me. I couldn’t fully comprehend it at first you don’t think something like that is going to happen to your own kids.” The court heard when he approached Mathew, who had been with another Asian man, he asked who had been trying to “groom” his little girl. He said: “I said which one of you had been trying to groom my kids. The other guy said he had nothing to do with it and he [Mathew] said he spoke no English and did not know what was going on. He then picked up his kid and started crying.” Delivering his verdict yesterday, Sheriff Stewart said he had “no hesitations whatsoever” in finding Mathew guilty and deferred sentence on him for background. He was placed on the sex offenders’ register and will return to court next month.