GARY HEMPSEED CONVICTED OF SEXUAL ABUSE IN DUNFERMLINE AND SKYE ROAD

A man from Dunfermline, Gary Hempseed, has been found guilty of a series of serious sexual offenses involving multiple teenage girls. The conviction came after a detailed four-day trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, where a jury of 14 members largely agreed on his guilt regarding seven out of nine charges brought against him. Following the verdict, Hempseed, a 57-year-old former lorry driver, was remanded into custody pending sentencing.

The allegations against Hempseed span several years and involve disturbing acts committed at various locations within Dunfermline. The court heard that between August 2013 and August 2016, at a property in Dunfermline, Hempseed engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a girl who was under the age of 16 at the time. Evidence presented indicated that he repeatedly slapped her buttocks over her clothing and made sexual remarks, behavior that persisted even after she turned 16, continuing until she was just over 19. Despite the jury's conviction on most charges, they acquitted Hempseed of two specific allegations related to this girl.

In addition to these charges, Hempseed was also convicted of sexually assaulting a different girl, aged between 13 and 16, on multiple occasions from November 2015 through November 2017. These incidents took place at various addresses across Dunfermline. The court heard that he repeatedly induced this girl to tickle his naked stomach, a bizarre and disturbing behavior that continued until November 2019. Jurors also found that between January 2018 and September 2019, Hempseed sexually assaulted this same girl during an incident in a hot tub, where he placed another man's hand on her private parts and forced his hand to touch her body.

A third victim, who was 16 at the time, also testified that she was sexually assaulted by Hempseed at his residence on Skye Road. On November 17, 2019, Hempseed committed a series of sexual acts on her, including taking an intimate photograph of her on his mobile phone, which was subsequently confiscated. The girl recounted that she had pretended to be asleep during the assault, waiting for an opportunity to escape. Hempseed, however, claimed that the encounter was consensual.

The case has now been transferred to Dunfermline Sheriff Court for sentencing, scheduled for September 20, after social work reports are prepared. In the meantime, Sheriff Charles MacNair ordered Hempseed to remain in custody, citing the severity of the final sexual assault, which he described as particularly grim, especially given Hempseed’s suggestion that it was consensual. The sheriff emphasized the seriousness of the charges, especially the charge related to the sexual assault in Hempseed’s home, and confirmed that he has been placed on the sex offenders register with immediate effect.