Jailed: Edinburgh charity pervert targeted schoolboys in his flat

A volunteer charity worker has been jailed for abusing three children after inviting them for sleep-overs.

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Stephen Murray, 50, invited the vulnerable boys to stay over at his flat before creeping into a bedroom and kissing and groping them.

The teenage victims were said to have been left “petrified” by the sexual assaults which took place at Murray’s former home in South Queensferry.

Behind bars: Pervert Stephen Murray

The boys were so traumatised by the incidents they did not tell anyone what had happened to them for years afterwards.

One brave victim finally came forward four years later and a subsequent police investigation led to two more victims being identified.

Murray’s social media states he is a volunteer with the International Fire and Rescue Association charity who aid the Fire Service at large events.

The page also states Murray is an RAF reservist, a sessional medic and home carer for family members.

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Murray, now of Glasgow, pleaded guilty to the three sex attacks when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court earlier this year and he returned to the dock for sentencing yesterday. (TUES)

Sheriff Nigel Ross has now caged the attacker for 19 months and placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.

Previously the court was told Murray was a widower and made contact with the first of his victims through a Facebook private message after the lad had posted a relative had died.

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Fiscal depute Alan Wickham said Murray told the boy “he had recently lost his wife and understood what he was going through” before sending the boy gifts through the post.

The boy was invited to stay at Murray’s home after the pervert had taken the lad to an event at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife in April 2014.

During the night the boy “heard the door of the bedroom opening” and the sleazy bus driver slipped into bed beside the youngster.

Murray then “began to rub [the boy’s] body and began to tickle his ear”. Murray then pulled the lad’s boxer shorts down and attempted to carry out a sex act.

The boy pretended to be asleep and made no mention of the attack the following day. The victim later told police he was also sexually assaulted a second time by Murray six months later.

The second victim also stayed over Murray’s home and presumed he would sleep alone in the pervert’s bed.

But again during the night Murray made his way into the room and after creeping into the bed he kissed and fondled the boy’s genitals while the boy pretended to be asleep.

The boy told police he did not tell anyone as he was “petrified” by the attack and that Murray said to him the following morning “sorry for getting into bed but he was cold and had come through for a heat”.

The fiscal said the third boy was attacked in a similar way at the South Queensferry home in January 2015 after agreeing to stay the night.

The sex assaults eventually came to light in January 2019 when one of the victims made contact with police to make a statement.

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