East Lothian paedophile sentenced to 14 years for hotel sex attacks in England
Latest sentencing follows five previous spells in jail
An East Lothian paedophile who was found guilty of sexually abusing a young child in the north of England has been jailed for 14 years.
Craig Raeburn, 61, repeatedly preyed on a child “despite being fully aware of the victim’s age” during shocking attacks at a hotel in Barrow, Cumbria between 2014 and 2016.
Raeburn met the child online before luring them to the hotel where he used his phone to record himself carrying out the assaults on the youngster.
Raeburn, formerly of Haddington and Port Seton in East Lothian, was eventually arrested after the child bravely confided in a relative.
The former NHS manager sentenced on Thursday, April 9 after being found guilty by a jury of five sexual offences following a trial at Preston Crown Court earlier this year.
He was also made the subject of a 20-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order [SOPO] and had his name added to the sex offenders register for life.
The court also issued a lifetime non-harassment order banning the predator from having any contact with the young victim.
Following the sentencing, DC Ash Elliot, of Cumbria Police, said: “The victim in this case has been incredibly brave in coming forward and reporting these traumatic events and I hope this result can provide some closure. Raeburn is a predator and was fully aware of the victim’s age when he committed the offences.
“Despite the case being reported some time after it took place, we hope the result achieved at court shows that it is never too late to report instances of sexual abuse.“
“Cumbria Police will investigate all reports of sexual abuse and do everything in our power to hold offenders accountable for their actions.”
Raeburn has made repeated appearances at Edinburgh Sheriff Court over the past 10 years and was sent to custody for the fifth time last year.
He was jailed for 20 months after being caught trying to hide a computer containing indecent images of children when police officers visited his former home in Haddington.
Raeburn was first jailed for 14 months when he was caught with around 1400 child abuse images in 2016.
He was then caught in a paedo hunter sting just weeks following his release from custody and given a 20-month prison term and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years following the incident in 2018.
Raeburn, a former youth football coach, subsequently breached his SOPO conditions when he was caught searching for men on the app Grindr and was returned to prison for 15 months.
He offended again by Googling his own name on an electronic device he had not informed police he owned in 2023. A sheriff initially issued a £1000 fine but the sentence was appealed by the Crown and the High Court of Judiciary quashed the financial penalty and judges imposed 12 months custody.