Edinburgh crime: 8 criminals who were handed sentences in Edinburgh courts in October

Edinburgh courts hand down sentences for crimes including domestic abuse and drugs possession

Published 7th Nov 2023, 16:19 GMT

Updated 7th Nov 2023, 16:19 GMT

Edinburgh’s courts dished out sentences last month for crimes including domestic abuse, possessing indecent images of children and flying a drone packed with drugs into prison.

One man escaped jail after breaching an order from a previous conviction for possessing a haul of indecent images of children, banning him from owning a phone with access to the internet. Now living in Edinburgh, the man was chased by police officers through the chartered accountants office he now works at in the Capital after learning he owned a mobile phone with internet access.

A pensioner who sexually assaulted two young girls while his wife sat in the next room has been jailed and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. George Thomson, 71, began abusing the two children when they were both just seven-years-old at his former home in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Thomson enticed the youngsters into his dingy bedroom to play computer games before making them sit on his lap and touching them intimately. Thomson was found guilty of using lewd, libidinous and indecent practices towards one child between December 29, 2008 and November 30, 2010. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting two children between December 1, 2010 and June 3, 2016, all at a property in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Sheriff Anderson jailed him for a total of 42 months and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

1. Pensioner abused girls at Musselburgh home

A pensioner who sexually assaulted two young girls while his wife sat in the next room has been jailed and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. George Thomson, 71, began abusing the two children when they were both just seven-years-old at his former home in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Thomson enticed the youngsters into his dingy bedroom to play computer games before making them sit on his lap and touching them intimately. Thomson was found guilty of using lewd, libidinous and indecent practices towards one child between December 29, 2008 and November 30, 2010. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting two children between December 1, 2010 and June 3, 2016, all at a property in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Sheriff Anderson jailed him for a total of 42 months and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period. Photo: Submitted

An Edinburgh gardener who agreed to fly a drone packed full of cocaine and mobile phones into HMP Edinburgh in a bid to pay off a drug debt escaped a jail sentence. Calvin Begbie flew the £1,000 Mavic Pro drone over the walls of the Capital prison in a bid to supply prisoners with three phones, charging equipment and a quantity Class A drugs. But the 29-year-old was caught out after the aircraft crashed landed in the prison grounds in November 2021 and he was later snared after his DNA was linked to the crime. Begbie admitted the offences when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August and he was back in the dock for sentencing on Monday, October 2. Begbie, of Dalry, Edinburgh, was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work in the community to be completed with 12 months.

2. Man flies drone with drugs into prison

An Edinburgh gardener who agreed to fly a drone packed full of cocaine and mobile phones into HMP Edinburgh in a bid to pay off a drug debt escaped a jail sentence. Calvin Begbie flew the £1,000 Mavic Pro drone over the walls of the Capital prison in a bid to supply prisoners with three phones, charging equipment and a quantity Class A drugs. But the 29-year-old was caught out after the aircraft crashed landed in the prison grounds in November 2021 and he was later snared after his DNA was linked to the crime. Begbie admitted the offences when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August and he was back in the dock for sentencing on Monday, October 2. Begbie, of Dalry, Edinburgh, was ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work in the community to be completed with 12 months. Photo: Submitted

An Edinburgh man carried out a shocking 30 year campaign of domestic abuse against his partner including strangling her and breaking her finger. Gavin Munro, 62, repeatedly abused and assaulted his victim over three decades when he would come home drunk from sessions in his local pub. Munro regularly punched the woman to the face leaving her with black eyes, seized her by the hair and dragged her along the ground. The thug also pulled a knife on the woman during one attack while he also left her with a broken finger during a separate savage incident at the couple’s Edinburgh home. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the father-of-four would often target his partner in front of their children leaving the family in fear of his drunken behaviour. Sheriff Anderson placed Munro on a two year supervision order and told him he must engage with the domestic abuse organisation, the Caledonian Mens Programme. Munro, of Gilmerton, Edinburgh, was also handed a non-harassment order banning him from having any contact with his victim for the next five years.

3. 30 years of domestic abuse

An Edinburgh man carried out a shocking 30 year campaign of domestic abuse against his partner including strangling her and breaking her finger. Gavin Munro, 62, repeatedly abused and assaulted his victim over three decades when he would come home drunk from sessions in his local pub. Munro regularly punched the woman to the face leaving her with black eyes, seized her by the hair and dragged her along the ground. The thug also pulled a knife on the woman during one attack while he also left her with a broken finger during a separate savage incident at the couple’s Edinburgh home. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the father-of-four would often target his partner in front of their children leaving the family in fear of his drunken behaviour. Sheriff Anderson placed Munro on a two year supervision order and told him he must engage with the domestic abuse organisation, the Caledonian Mens Programme. Munro, of Gilmerton, Edinburgh, was also handed a non-harassment order banning him from having any contact with his victim for the next five years. Photo: Submitted

A violent thug who forced his girlfriend to set up an Only Fans account during a shocking campaign of domestic abuse was jailed on October 11 for 14 months. Kenneth Taggart made his partner post intimate pictures on the X-rated website to raise cash before then convincing her to put up “more graphic material” after the original images failed to make enough cash. Taggart was also said to have left the woman “screaming in pain” during several savage attacks over the course of their relationship at properties they shared in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Pitlochry. The 35-year-old chef was eventually caught after a concerned neighbour overheard one violent attack in Edinburgh where he choked the victim and “restricted her breathing” for around 30 seconds in December 2021. The court heard the woman described staying with Taggart as “a living hell” and that on several occasions she was forced to lock herself in a bathroom to escape his attacks.

4. Domestic abuse including Only Fans account

A violent thug who forced his girlfriend to set up an Only Fans account during a shocking campaign of domestic abuse was jailed on October 11 for 14 months. Kenneth Taggart made his partner post intimate pictures on the X-rated website to raise cash before then convincing her to put up “more graphic material” after the original images failed to make enough cash. Taggart was also said to have left the woman “screaming in pain” during several savage attacks over the course of their relationship at properties they shared in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Pitlochry. The 35-year-old chef was eventually caught after a concerned neighbour overheard one violent attack in Edinburgh where he choked the victim and “restricted her breathing” for around 30 seconds in December 2021. The court heard the woman described staying with Taggart as “a living hell” and that on several occasions she was forced to lock herself in a bathroom to escape his attacks. Photo: Submitted