Foster carer jailed for child sex

A former foster father has been jailed for 12 years after raping two girls and abusing other children.

Leslie Hanson, of Drummuir, in Moray, committed a catalogue of sex crimes against child victims at addresses in the area between 1990 and 1998.

The 65-year-old raped two girls when they were aged 11 and 15, and molested three others.

He denied the charges, but was convicted after a trial at the High Court in Inverness last month.

Passing sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Woolman told Hanson he had been convicted of a horrifying catalogue of sexual crimes against five young females.

"It is my duty to mark the gravity of the offences and to emphasise the public abhorrence of this conduct"
Lord Woolman

The judge added: "It is my duty to mark the gravity of the offences and to emphasise the public abhorrence of this conduct."

Lord Woolman said the sentence had taken into account Hanson's age and the fact he had no previous convictions.

The trial jury took less than two hours to convict him of two offences of rape and four of lewd and indecent behaviour.

Defence counsel David Moggach said Hanson maintained he was innocent of the charges.

Supplied alcohol

He said divorced Hanson had worked as a printer in England before moving to the north of Scotland where he and his wife became foster parents.

Mr Moggach said the couple had cared for 30 to 40 children, pointing out several came to court to give evidence for Hanson and spoke highly of him as a foster parent.

He is quite a frail 65-year-old," added Mr Moggach. He assures me there is no possibility of his re-offending whatsoever."

Hanson, who was placed on the sex offenders' register, supplied alcohol to one of his underage victims and rubbed dog food on another girl during the abuse.