The nine criminals featured this month include an Edinburgh man who sexually assaulted two young schoolgirls, who was handed an extended jail sentence of five years and six months and placed on the sex offenders register for life.
A man who was caught with a haul of disturbing child abuse images was banned from having any contact with children and from attending play parks was also sentenced this month, while a 19-year-old man was sentenced to 16 months’ detention over his involvement in Edinburgh Bonfire Night disorder in 2024.
Also included is a driver who mowed down a police officer in a shocking hit and run incident. He was jailed for more than two years and banned from the road.
![A violent thug who choked his partner and threatened to “chop her into little pieces” with an axe was last month jailed for more than three years. Arnoldas Ciucelis carried out the brutal attack and made the murderous threat towards the terrified woman during a horror incident in Gifford, East Lothian, in February 2023. The victim escaped the violent assault by jumping six feet out her living room window but was chased and caught by the brute who attempted to drag her back into the property Ciucelis, 31, picked the woman up and began carrying her back to the house but was forced to drop her to the ground due to her struggling and her loud screams for help.
Shocked neighbours who witnessed the attack contacted the police and after the Lithuanian national fled the area he was later found sleeping at an address in the nearby town of Haddington. Ciucelis appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the following day but after being allowed bail he fled the country and was subsequently extradited back to the UK. He pleaded guilty last month to engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive of his now former partner all to her injury and danger of life between October 1, 2020 and October 29, 2023. Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC described his behaviour as “a serious offence of domestic abuse”. Sheriff Campbell said: “Undoubtedly the most serious part of this offence occurred on the 19th of February 2023 where you subjected [the woman] to a sustained attack where you strangled her to the point she lost consciousness.” Ciucelis was sentenced on March 17 to a 40 month prison term backdated to August 20 last year and will be supervised for a further 12 months following his release. Sheriff Campbell also issued a non-harassment order banning Ciucelis from contacting his victim for an indefinite period.](https://www.thestar.co.uk/webimg/b25lY21zOmI2YmFjMjVlLTZkOWUtNGI5MC05YzlkLTIxYmI3MWJjMDYwZTpmYzhiZTI0MC00MDkxLTQ1N2QtOTM4MS00YjcwYWU1MGQ5MWY=.jpg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
5. Violent thug choked his partner
A violent thug who choked his partner and threatened to “chop her into little pieces” with an axe was last month jailed for more than three years. Arnoldas Ciucelis carried out the brutal attack and made the murderous threat towards the terrified woman during a horror incident in Gifford, East Lothian, in February 2023. The victim escaped the violent assault by jumping six feet out her living room window but was chased and caught by the brute who attempted to drag her back into the property Ciucelis, 31, picked the woman up and began carrying her back to the house but was forced to drop her to the ground due to her struggling and her loud screams for help. Shocked neighbours who witnessed the attack contacted the police and after the Lithuanian national fled the area he was later found sleeping at an address in the nearby town of Haddington. Ciucelis appeared from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the following day but after being allowed bail he fled the country and was subsequently extradited back to the UK. He pleaded guilty last month to engaging in a course of behaviour that was abusive of his now former partner all to her injury and danger of life between October 1, 2020 and October 29, 2023. Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC described his behaviour as “a serious offence of domestic abuse”. Sheriff Campbell said: “Undoubtedly the most serious part of this offence occurred on the 19th of February 2023 where you subjected [the woman] to a sustained attack where you strangled her to the point she lost consciousness.” Ciucelis was sentenced on March 17 to a 40 month prison term backdated to August 20 last year and will be supervised for a further 12 months following his release. Sheriff Campbell also issued a non-harassment order banning Ciucelis from contacting his victim for an indefinite period. | Julie Bull Photo: Julie Bull
6. Former youth worker abused schoolboys
An Edinburgh youth worker who sexually abused six schoolboys over an 11-year period was last month jailed and placed on the sex offenders register for life. Robert James Blanch lured the children, all aged between eight and 13-years-old, to his then-home at the capital’s Parkgrove area where he assaulted them between 1975 and 1986. Blanch, now aged 72, tickled the boys, removed their clothing and touched their thighs, groins and penis. Blanch was working as a volunteer youth worker with an organisation attached to an Edinburgh school when he carried out the attacks on the children. Blanch denied the accusations but was found guilty of five charges of using lewd, indecent or libidinous practices towards the six victims by a jury verdict following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in February. He was remanded in custody by Sheriff Douglas Keir and returned to the dock for sentencing at the capital court on March 20. The sheriff jailed Blanch for a total of 33 months backdated to his remand date last month and placed him on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period. | PA
7. Man with child abuse images banned from playparks
Fabio D’Abramo was found to be in possession of more than 1,000 pictures and videos depicting “very young children”, including babies, being sexually abused by adults. D’Abramo, 38, was spared a jail sentence despite a sheriff stating the victims in the horror material had displayed “obvious pain and distress” in the footage. The Italian national was arrested after police officers received intelligence that indecent images of children were being accessed and raided his flat in Leith in November 2024. Officers seized computer equipment and a mobile phone and discovered a total of 1,024 images and videos including around 500 rated at Category A - considered the most depraved. He claimed to have only been looking at drawings of child sexual abuse on the internet but had downloaded encrypted files in Chinese and Russian and was unaware of their contents. D’Abramo pleaded guilty to a charge of taking, or allowing to be taken, indecent photographs of children between May 25, 2021 and November 5, 2024 when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in February. He returned to the dock for sentencing on March 19, when solicitor Colin Severin said his client is attending sessions with the offenders’ sexual abuse organisation the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and has “expressed remorse”. D’Abramo was sentenced to a 30 month social work supervision order and must carry out 280 hours of unpaid work in the community. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for 30 months. The sheriff also imposed a conduct requirement where D’Abramo is banned from having any unsupervised contact with children under 18 and prohibited from attending children’s play parks. | Alexander Lawrie
8. Scammer jailed again
Emma Hunt, 40, forged invoices and used company credit accounts to buy goods to scam the power giant of the huge sum while employed as a project administrator over a 30 month period. Hunt bought an incredible £67,000 worth of iPhones that she sold on, treated herself to expensive goods and services from John Lewis and Hilton Hotels and splashed out £4,800 with car hire firms. The office boss also swindled cash from charities including the Multiple Sclerosis Society by making small donations on behalf of the company and claiming back much larger amounts on her expenses. Following her arrest police discovered a haul of designer handbags and shoes within the scam artist’s home and she later told officers she had been “living a double life for years”. Hunt provided a false reference to gain employment with Scottish Power and was eventually caught out when bosses saw media reports of Hunt being jailed for conning a previous employer in 2023. She was sentenced to a three year prison term after a jury found her guilty of embezzling £899,164.77 from an Edinburgh property firm between 2016 and 2019. She was subsequent released from custody on licence in February last year but was jailed again when she failed to repay an agreed sum of £211,436.91 under Proceeds of Crime legislation. Hunt, from Coldstream, Scottish Borders, was sentenced to a further custodial period of two years and 271 days in January this year. She returned to the dock from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday, March 13, and admitted forming a fraudulent scheme to obtain goods and cash to the value of £176,00 while employed by Scottish Power between January 25, 2021 and July 22, 2023. Sheriff Charles Walls described the offences as of a “callous and sophisticated nature” and imposed a total custodial sentence of 634 days to run consecutive to her current prison term. | Alexander Lawrie