GEORGE FRASER FROM FIFE SENTENCED FOR CHILDHOOD SEX OFFENSES IN DUNDEE

In November 2007, a man identified as George Fraser, aged 43 and residing in Oakley, Fife, was involved in a court case concerning historic sexual abuse. Fraser had begun sexually abusing two young girls while he was still a child himself—at the age of 10—during the 1970s.

A temporary judge, Edward Bowen QC, sentenced Fraser to two years’ probation, describing the case as one of the most challenging he had ever presided over. Fraser had previously been registered on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The victims, who were just eight and nine years old when the abuse started, reacted emotionally after the hearing, leaving the High Court in Edinburgh and declaring their intention to appeal the sentence.

During the proceedings, it was revealed that Fraser started molesting one girl at age 10, when she was nine years old, and began abusing the second girl two years later, when she was also nine. The assaults took place between November 1974 and October 1979 at various locations in Dundee, often occurring twice weekly.

Initially, Fraser denied the allegations, but he changed his plea to guilty after the first victim testified in court. Rape charges against him were dropped.

After background and psychological evaluations, Mr. Bowen commented on the difficulty of the case, saying, "The case in front of me is just about the most difficult I have ever had to consider in a long time on the bench." He acknowledged the seriousness of the offences, though they were committed almost three decades prior.

He emphasized that the age of the offences should not influence how the courts judge them, despite Fraser being under 16 at the time. The judge also noted the limited insight into Fraser’s mental state and personality at the time.

The offences only came to light recently, after the victims confided in each other and recognized that Fraser was their abuser. Earlier this year, the High Court in Perth was told that both women have struggled with the trauma—one even attempted suicide.

During the crimes, Fraser would take advantage of moments when no adults were present, often withdrawing a girl into a bedroom while others played nearby. Fraser justified his actions by claiming his childhood was unhappy and that he experienced a significant personality change following a road accident at age eight.

Outside court, one of the victims—whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons—expressed her disillusionment with the sentence, stating, "I never went through all those years and through all this time it’s gone on for that judge to hand down two years’ probation. I would never encourage anyone else to go to the authorities over something like this. The justice system is a joke." She pledged to continue fighting for justice, saying, "If it takes me until my last breath we will get justice for this," and vowed to launch a campaign to have Fraser’s sentence increased, even stating, "I will dance on his grave."

A spokesperson for the victims criticized Fraser’s legal strategy, asserting that he had manipulated the system. The spokesperson said, "There’s really no justice. Those two have gone through hell because of this and they’re still going through hell."