November 2015 Man jailed for having underage sex with girl at Lanarkshire hotel A man who had sex with an underage girl at a Motherwell hotel was last week jailed for a year Michael Fallan was also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for a decade  The 30-year-old last month admitted a charge of engaging in consensual sexual intercourse with the girl – aged between 12 and 16 – at the Holiday Inn Express in Strathclyde Park in April 2013. The court heard last month that the girl was repeatedly questioned by her mother, and eventually admitted spending the night with Fallan. He had told the girl’s mother her daughter would be staying overnight with one of her friends and he had walked the girl down to meet her friend’s dad. While the girl would not have been allowed to go with anyone she didn’t know, the girl’s mother was content as Fallan had told her he had met the friend’s dad. The girl met Fallan at a shopping centre in the east end of Glasgow and they drove to the Holiday Inn in Strathclyde Park. Fallan had booked the room using his brother’s credit card. His brother had given him permission to do so, said the fiscal depute, but he did not know what it was for. The girl waited outside the hotel while Fallan went to reception. After signing in he went outside to collect the girl and took her to a hotel room. The girl remembered having half a can of beer to drink, but her recollection was quite hazy. However, she recalled being in the room, sitting on a couch and moving to the bed with the accused. Fallan had sex with the girl and they stayed at the hotel until the following morning, when the accused told her it had been a good night. Fiscal depute Lauren McRobert had told the court: “The complainer then recollected having sex with the accused and was shocked that they had.” Fallan and the girl left the hotel together and got the bus home. While walking home they were observed by a friend of the girl’s family who was suspicious at seeing both of them together. The woman called a member of the girl’s family saying she found it strange that she had seen them together. When the girl’s mother returned home on the Sunday morning, she was told they had been seen together. She then tried to call the complainer and the accused, but both their phones were switched off. The girl’s mum returned home and found her daughter there. The girl told her mum she had been staying at a friend’s house and had not seen the accused. Eventually, however, she told her mother that she had spent the night at a hotel with him. The girl asked her mother not to contact the police, but her mother did so and officers carried out an investigation. Ms McRobert also said that DNA evidence linked Fallan to the girl. Fallan’s agent at Hamilton Sheriff Court last Thursday asked Sheriff Douglas Brown in sentencing Fallan to consider the early guilty plea, and the fact the offence had been restricted to one meeting. Sheriff Brown told Fallan the offence was a serious one involving a girl half his age. He added: “It was clearly deliberate as opposed to an opportunistic offence. There was a cover story for the mother.” He sentenced Fallan to 12 months’ imprisonment, reduced from 18 months’ due to his guilty plea, and placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years. October 2015 Man pleads guilty to having sex with underage girl The suspicions of a family friend led to the conviction of a man for having sex with an underage girl at a Motherwell hotel. Michael Fallan (30), last week pleaded guilty to a charge of engaging in consensual sexual intercourse with the girl – aged between 12 and 16 – at the Holiday Inn Express in Strathclyde Park in April 2013. When the girl was repeatedly questioned by her mother, the teenager eventually admitted spending the night with Fallan. Fiscal depute Lauren McRobert said Fallan had told the girl’s mother her daughter would be staying overnight with one of her friends. He told the woman he had walked the girl down to meet her friend’s dad. While the girl would not have been allowed to go with anyone she didn’t know, the girl’s mother was content as Fallan had told her he had met the friend’s dad. Ms McRobert said the girl met Fallan at a shopping centre in the east end of Glasgow and they drove to the Holiday Inn in Strathclyde Park. Fallan had booked the room using his brother’s credit card. His brother had given him permission to do so, said the fiscal depute, but he did not know what it was for. The girl waited outside the hotel while Fallan went to reception. After signing in he went outside to collect the girl and took her to a hotel room. Ms McRobert said the girl remembered having half a can of beer to drink, but her recollection was quite hazy. However, she recalled being in the room, sitting on a couch and moving to the bed with the accused. Fallan had sex with the girl and they stayed at the hotel until the following morning, when the accused told her it had been a good night. Ms McRobert added: “The complainer then recollected having sex with the accused and was shocked that they had.” The fiscal depute also explained that Fallan and the girl left the hotel together and got the bus home. While walking home they were observed by a friend of the girl’s family who, Ms McRobert said, was suspicious at seeing both of them together. The woman called a member of the girl’s family saying she found it strange that she had seen them together. When the girl’s mother returned home on the Sunday morning, she was told that they had been seen together. She then tried to call the complainer and the accused, but both their phones were switched off. The girl’s mum returned home and found her daughter there. The girl told her mum she had been staying at a friend’s house and had not seen the accused. Eventually, however, she told her mother that she had spent the night at a hotel with him. The girl asked her mother not to contact the police, but her mother did so and officers carried out an investigation. Ms McRobert also said that DNA evidence linked Fallan to the girl. At Hamilton Sheriff Court last Friday, Sheriff Douglas Brown deferred sentence for a criminal justice social work report and continued bail. He placed Fallan on the Sex Offenders’ Register meantime.