Edinburgh crime: Pensioner George Thomson facing jail after abusing girls in his Musselburgh home

His victim said the attacks took place in his bedroom which was locked

An Edinburgh pensioner who sexually assaulted two young girls while his wife was in the next room is facing a lengthy jail sentence.

George Thomson began abusing the two children aged when they were just seven years old by touching them intimately while they sat on his lap playing computer games. Thomson, 71, lured the victims into his dingy bedroom while he and his wife were looking after the pair at his former home in Musselburgh, East Lothian.

The OAP then sexually abused the two girls separately by groping at their breasts, vagina and bottom on numerous occasions between 2008 and 2016. One victim, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, said Thomson would penetrate her vagina and anus with his fingers when she was left alone with him at his home. The youngster said she was left “confused” by the sexual assaults and only managed to find the courage to confide in her mother in 2020.

Edinburgh pensioner George Thomson is facing a lengthy jail sentence

Thomson, now of the Hyvots area of Edinburgh, denied any wrongdoing but was convicted by a jury of three amended charges following a three day trial at the Capital’s sheriff court this week. Sheriff Ian Anderson said: “I am going to defer sentence for a criminal justice social work report so you will have to come to court on the date the sheriff clerk will give you in a moment. Your bail will be continued in the meantime and it is very important you comply with the conditions.”

Thomson was placed on the Sex Offenders Register on an interim basis and sentence was deferred to later this month for reports to be prepared.

One victim told the court she would spend time at Thomson’s home starting when she was around seven years old and while her parents were at work. She said Thomson would invite her into his bedroom and lock the door behind them while she played computer games and watched Disney and Harry Potter movies on his laptop.

The girl told the trial Thomson’s bedroom was always “very dark” as the blinds were always down and the windows never open. The child said the abuse started when she was just seven years old when she would sit on Thomson’s lap to play on his computer. She described how the pensioner began by touching her breasts and genitals over her clothing and said he would regularly “fiddle around with my nipples” while in the room.

The brute also moved the child onto his bed where he penetrated her with his fingers on several occasions and took his erect penis out and rubbed it against her. The victim said the abusive incidents could last up to 30 minutes and took place while Thomson’s wife was in the next room.

She said she was left “scared” and “belittled” by the attacks and said the pensioner refused to allow her to leave the room on several occasions. The court was told as the girl got older she began to feel “unsafe” in the house and made excuses to her parents not to visit Thomson’s home.

Following the evidence, the jury deliberated for two hours before returning majority guilty verdicts on all three sexual assault charges on Thursday afternoon. Thomson was found guilty of using lewd, libidinous and indecent practices towards one child between December 29, 2018 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.