June 2015 Paedophile jailed after victim spotted him driving bus 20 years later A bus driver who raped and sexually abused boys in Scotland before moving to England has been jailed after being recognised by one of his victims down south. Gavin Bowie was jailed for 13 years at the High Court in Livingston after preying on children who boarded buses he was driving in Glasgow and Cumbernauld and abused them. The 64-year-old only came to trial after a passenger who boarded a bus he was driving in Halifax, West Yorkshire, recognised him as his childhood abuser. His victim, now 36, had both moved to the English town from Scotland. The man reported Bowie to the police in 2013, when it emerged that another victim had come forward only 13 months before. The chance encounter also led detectives to a trail of other victims on bus routes Bowie had worked in Glasgow, Cumbernauld, and elsewhere in Scotland more than 20 years ago. Bowie allowed the boys to travel free then lured them to his home with promises of cannabis, alcohol and sweets before threatening to hurt them or their family if they didn’t comply with his demands. A jury earlier found him guilty after trial of a total of 15 sex offences against 11 boys aged 12 to 16. The convictions included a catalogue of indecent assaults and male rapes. Defence counsel Brian McConnachie QC said his client still maintained his innocence despite the jury’s verdicts based on the evidence led against him. He said the last of the 15 offences of which Bowie was convicted had ended in 2000 and his criminal record comprised just eight convictions, mostly for dishonesty. Mr McConnachie said: “There’s been nothing between July 2000 and now, some 15 years respect of which Mr Bowie, it would appear, has lived a life which was offence free during a time in which he was in full time employment. “There’s nothing I can say which can in any way mitigate or minimise the offences. Mr Bowie accepts that, irrespective of his own views on the matter, the ladies and gentlemen of the jury did return verdicts of guilty.” Passing sentence, judge Lady Wolffe told Bowie: “The boys you preyed on were all impressionable young boys in their early teens. “You were a calculating and predatory individual, preying on the young and vulnerable for your own sexual gratification. “From the evidence at trial, and from several victim impact statements I’ve read, it’s clear that your prolonged sexual abuse has affected your victims. “They describe trust issues, difficulty forming relationships anger and on more than one occasion turning to alcohol and drugs to try to cope with the impact of the abuse that they suffered at your hands. Their lives continue to be blighted by your actions. “In the light of the nature of the crimes that you committed I called for a criminal justice social work report. I have regard to the terms of the criminal justice social work report. “You continue to deny responsibility and appear to have no understanding of the impact of your offending behaviour either on the complainers or on society in general. “Indeed from its terms and from the evidence at trial it is clear you are a callous and selfish man and you wholly fail to understand or acknowledge the continuing impact your actions have had on the lives of the young victims.” Lady Wolffe said it was “extremely concerning” the background report recorded him as having neither remorse for the crimes of which he’d been convicted nor insight into his actions and their consequences for others. As a result it was difficult to fully assess the nature of the risk he posed in future. She told him: “I have considered whether it would be appropriate to sentence you individually on each of the 15 separate charges of which you have been convicted. “To do so, however, may lead to a sentence that may be too long and not sufficiently serious to mark the reprehensibility of your actions. “From the evidence and the charges it’s clear you engaged in conduct with short periods of non-offending for over 20 years and in those circumstances I shall impose a single cumulative sentence of 13 years.” The judge also ordered Bowie’s name should remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. Speaking after the sentencing, Procurator Fiscal Jennifer Harrower said: “Gavin Bowie carried out a protracted campaign targeting boys solely in order to fulfil his own sexual gratification. “His despicable actions have left permanent mental scars on some of his vulnerable victims. “Thanks to the incredible bravery of his victims in coming forward to report what happened to them, it has been possible for us to bring him to face the full force of the law for his crimes.” May 2015 Child rapist finally caught after victim boards bus he was driving – 20 years after sick attack A sick sex beast who raped young boys for 30 years was only brought to justice when one of his victims recognised him as he boarded the bus the fiend was driving. Vile Gavin Bowie was behind the wheel of a passenger bus in Halifax when one of his victims got on board and was knocked back by the sight of his abuser. The man, who had been attacked 20 years earlier, said: “At that moment, I turned into a scared little boy all over again. That man ruined my life. I could never, ever forget his face.” In an incredible coincidence, both abuser and victim had chosen to move from Scotland and make their homes in the Yorkshire town. According to the Daily Record , when the man reported Bowie to the police in 2013, it emerged that another victim had come forward only 13 months before. Detectives had not been able to construct a strong enough case to prosecute Bowie at that stage. But the chance encounter on the bus in Halifax changed all that – and led officers to a trail of other victims on bus routes Bowie worked in several parts of Scotland. On Wednesday, Bowie, 64, will be sentenced for 15 sex offences, including male rape, against 11 boys aged 12 to 16. But police and the victim who found him in Halifax believe there are many more victims and Bowie would have continued offending if he had not been caught. Bowie’s serial abuse spanned almost three decades from 1972 to 2000, when he was a bus driver in Glasgow, Cumbernauld and elsewhere in Scotland. He picked out his prey from boys who used the buses, allowing them to travel free and luring them to his home with promises of cannabis, alcohol and sweets. With some of the boys, he terrorised them, threatening to hurt them or their family if they didn’t comply with his sordid demands. The victim whose chance encounter helped bring Bowie to justice endured a catalogue of abuse that was typical. He was one of a number of children Bowie preyed upon on his regular route from Easterhouse in the east end of Glasgow to the city centre. The boy was only 13 – and vulnerable because he was shy and lived alone with a single mum. The victim said: “I was a really good kid but I lacked confidence. From the time I got on that bus as a child and met Bowie, my life changed forever.” Bowie was also a petty crook and a schemer and he told his young victim he could make some money selling pirate videos and stolen clothes. After the boy agreed, Bowie took him back to his house in Cumbernauld and plied him with booze. The boy passed out but woke to find Bowie abusing him. He ran to the kitchen to get a knife but Bowie claimed he was “connected” and would have both him and his mother beaten up. Over the next 18 months, Bowie continued to harass the boy, abusing him and threatening him with violence. The victim recalled: “I was really scared of him. There was only me and my mum in the house and I thought he was a real hard man. He was always feeding me up on drink and making me do things.” Long after the abuse finished, the victim remained haunted, becoming a heroin addict to block out his torment. He tried to kill himself a number of times. He said: “Bowie ruined my life. I was in and out of prison and I lost everything. I couldn’t go to the police because I thought I wouldn’t be believed. I was just a drug addict and criminal.” The victim, who is now free of heroin, said he also felt too ashamed to speak out. He said: “As a man it is so hard to admit something like that has happened to you.” Bowie’s victim moved to Halifax in 2006, not realising his abuser had moved there too, some years before. Then in March 2013, he boarded the bus that would bring his nightmare flooding back – but ultimately bring his abuser to book. He recalled: “I went to the back of the bus and my whole body was shaking. I was with a friend and I told him, ‘That man is Gavin Bowie and he abused me as a child.’ I was that wee scared boy again. I thought, “Bowie has come back for me.’” But he was glad he found the courage to report Bowie. It turned out that the previous April a man living in Northampton told police Bowie had abused him from the age of 12 in Cumbernauld between 1985-88. That first case was investigated by the Rape Investigation Unit in Lanarkshire but they lacked evidence until the second victim came forward in Halifax. The Halifax victim said: “I know that if it wasn’t for me going to the police, he would still be doing that to other boys. The victims we know of are probably the tip of the iceberg. “I would tell other men in the same situation to come forward. The police will take them seriously and they can prevent it happening to anyone else. “I can’t thank the police enough. They were really helpful and understanding. It was overwhelming for me to be believed. “The case has put some demons to bed. It has taken 20 years but I am just glad he has been found guilty and I hope he will rot in jail.” Detective Chief Inspector Laura Mcluckie, who was senior investigating officer on the case, ordered a hunt for other victims and using information from the two they already knew of, they traced men who had used Bowie’s buses when they were boys. She said: “It snowballed from there. We looked at his employment history and where he had worked. “The most difficult part was cold calling male victims. “We were asking them to speak about the most intimate information. Some of them found it very traumatic to speak about what happened. They needed a lot of time and support to tell us what happened.” Through the investigation, the unit were able to find another nine victims who agreed to testify against Bowie. Mcluckie said: “It never ceases to amaze me the commitment and courage that victims have to come forward and report these crimes.” This month, Police Scotland unveiled the National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, which will now investigate complex cases and support divisions in tackling sex abuse cases. Mcluckie said: “We are not only looking at the historical aspect, we want to also prevent future victims. “This case should serve as a warning to perpetrators that we will find them and we will bring them to justice.”