July 2012 Convicted child abuser facing jail A PENSIONER who has been convicted of sexually abusing two little girls over a 12 month period has been warned to expect a lengthy prison sentence. Pervert Walter Buchanan, 65, preyed on two kids aged 14 and 11 between August 2007 and September 2008 at an address in Musselburgh. The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Thursday how the widower told the girls – who cannot be named for legal reasons – that “bad things” would happen to them if they revealed their ordeal to any grown ups. But despite the threats, the girls managed to pluck up enough courage to tell their family what Buchanan was doing to them. The court heard that detectives arrested Buchanan, who had no previous convictions, after he arranged to meet them at his local police station. Buchanan, of Windsor Park, Musselburgh, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault before judge Lord Bracadale who deferred sentence on him to a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow on August 16 2012. Lord Bracadale told him: “The accused should come to court expecting to receive a custodial sentence.” Buchanan’s solicitor advocate John Scott QC, told Lord Bracadale that he would explain the reasons behind his client’s behaviour at the Glasgow hearing.