Court told the crimes had left both victims with long-term difficulties
Man who abused girls gets eight years and four months
Published:
An offshore worker was jailed for eight years and four months at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday for sexually abusing two young girls.
Thomas Watt molested the children during periods onshore when they were left in his care while their mother went to play bingo. Watt, 52, of 8 Redburn Avenue, Culloden, near Inverness, admitted four charges of lewd and indecent behaviour involving the victims at addresses in Inverness-shire.
He got into bed with the children and carried out sex acts on them and compelled them to perform a sex act on him.
The first girl was abused between 1986 and 1994 and the second between 1992 and 2000.
Both children were aged eight at the time it began.
Northern Constabulary welcomed the sentence yesterday.
Detective Inspector John Patience said: “We are delighted with the sentence handed out to Thomas Watt.
“Our thoughts are very much with the victims of these crimes and hope the severity of the sentence helps bring some closure to them for the abuse they have suffered.
“Crimes of this nature have a lasting effect on the victims and the length of sentence reflects the seriousness with which the court views such offences.”
At an earlier sitting, the High Court was told one of the victims now suffers depression and mood swings.
The other victim said the abuse had wrecked her life.
One of the victims contacted the charity Childline when she was 11, but did not go into much detail and was afraid to go to the police.
It was only as an adult that she reported the abuse to the authorities in 2007.
