June 2018 Ayrshire man jailed for seven years for raping schoolgirls in the 70s An Ayrshire man convicted of raping two schoolgirls more than 40 years ago has been jailed for seven years. Michael Martin, from Springside in Irvine, has been told he will remain on the sex offenders register “indefinitely”. Martin, 59, had denied the rapes and branded his victims “wicked” and “evil” liars. A social worker who prepared a report for the court had described Martin as “exceptionally callous”. Passing sentence at the High Court in Livingston, Lady Carmichael told Martin: “The jury found you guilty of lewd and libidinous conduct committed against three young girls between 1972 and 1980. “The jury also found you guilty of raping two of them. “The charges of lewd and libidinous conduct involving those two girls was of the most serious character and included conduct the law would now regard as rape.” She added: “Those two girls, particularly the younger of the two, were in a particularly vulnerable situation at the time you abused them. Your abuse has continued to have enduring effects on them. “Because of the serious nature of the offending, there is no alternative to a custodial disposal.” Victoria Dow QC, defending, highlighted that her client continued to protest his innocence. She said: “As a child he was subject to sexual abuse himself and that appears, on one view, to have set the wheels in motion.” She said Martin had a “chaotic” adult life blighted by alcoholism and illness. Although he had a criminal record, there had been no sexual offending and he had never served a prison sentence before. Lady Carmichael said some of the offending on the indictment had taken place when Martin was a child himself, with the earliest charge when he was 13. She said: “I take into account that during part of the period you yourself were immature. As you got older, however, your understanding that your behaviour was criminal would have increased and your culpability would have kept in line with that.” Martin’s victims – who are now aged 47, 55 and 42 – gave evidence at his trial that when he abused them he told them to be quiet, saying “Shh.” They said they told no one of their ordeal at the time and one added: “Who would have believed us in the 1970s?” The abuse took place when Martin was looking after the children at addresses in Glasgow and at a holiday park in Gatehouse of Fleet between October 1972 and December 1980. His crimes were finally exposed when his victims decided to go to the police after 40 years. May 2018 Springside child rapist guilty of historical sexual abuse A pervert who raped two schoolgirls more than 40 years ago has finally been brought to justice. Fifty-nine-year-old Michael Martin, from Springside denied the rapes and claimed his victims were wicked and evil liars. He raped a seven-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl at various addresses in Glasgow between 1976 and 1978. Martin was also convicted of sexually abusing a four-year-old girl in 1979. On Monday at the High Court in Glasgow Martin was convicted of the rapes and sexual abuse. His victims who are now grown women – aged 47, 55 and 42 – told the High Court in Glasgow that when Martin abused them he told them to be quiet saying “Shh.” They told the jury that they told no one of their ordeal them and one added: “Who would have believed us in the 1970s.” The jury was told by the victim who was 14 when she was raped by Martin: “I told my mum, nothing came of it. “ The abuse took place when Martin was looking after the children. His vile crimes were finally exposed when his victims decided to go to the police after 40years. Prosecutor Angela Gray said: The sexual abuse of children is often committed in a secretive way and there are rarely eye-witnesses. “These are different children of different ages, in different houses, but there are striking similarities in their evidence. The accused found and took opportunities.” Judge Lady Carmichael deferred sentence on Martin, who is behind bars in Livingston, until next month and placed him on the sex offenders’ register. The court heard that Martin has previous convictions, but they are non-analagous and he has never served a prison sentence.