WILLIAM MELVILLE SENTENCED IN GLASGOW FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES INVOLVING CHILDREN

A 70-year-old man named William Melville has been sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to engaging in sexual activities with minors behind a Glasgow supermarket. Melville pleaded guilty to sexual assault on two girls aged four and eight, as well as to having sex with a 13-year-old girl behind an Aldi store in the city centre.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Melville went into a storage container with the 13-year-old girl behind the supermarket, while instructing her friend to act as a lookout. The court was told that he had befriended the girls between May and July 2021, falsely claiming to know their fathers and guiding them to a nearby train station for "look after them." It was further revealed that he convinced the younger girl, who was 13 at the time, to enter the container where he had sex with her. During the incident, her 15-year-old friend looked away but was told to alert him if anyone approached.

Melville admitted to having sex with a "younger child" under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. Under Scottish law, any sexual activity with a child under 13 is automatically considered rape, while charges involving children aged 13 to 16 depend on the circumstances.

The court also heard that Melville had previously groped and kissed a four-year-old girl while reading her a bedtime story at a property in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, ten years ago. Additionally, he sexually assaulted an eight-year-old girl helping him with painting at an address in Glasgow in 2015. It was also revealed that Melville has a prior conviction from 1997 for lewd and libidinous practices.

William Melville was ordered to remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely and will be under supervision for two years following his release from prison.