Police today praised the bravery of three sex abuse victims after an Aberdeen man was jailed for seven years.
Brian Morrison, 55, who sexually assaulted the young girls at a number of North-east addresses, including the Beach Leisure Centre, was earlier found guilty after a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Sentencing him to seven years in prison, Judge Lady Stacey also ordered Morrison to be monitored in the community for three years on his release.
Speaking at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday, Lady Stacey told Morrison: “Your first offence 30 years ago was for sexual offending.
“You appear to have an established pattern of offending and it has caused significant harm to your victims.”
She placed Morrison, whose address was given in court as Deveron Road, Aberdeen, on the sex offenders’ register.
Morrison was found guilty of sexually abusing one girl on various occasions at two houses in Aberdeen, the Beach Leisure Centre and the Beach Promenade between May 2001 and January 2005.
He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting another girl with intent to rape her at a house in Aberdeen on January 8, 2005.
Morrison was further convicted of sexually assaulting another girl at a house in Aberdeen on one occasion between January 2012 and January 2013.
He denied all the charges against him.
Detective Inspector Lorna Ferguson, of the North East Division Public Protection Unit, said: “The sexual assault and abuse of young children is truly despicable.
“I would like to express my thanks to the victims who came forward and had to relive what Morrison had done to them in order to secure his conviction.
“Their bravery in coming forward has resulted in the sentence delivered yesterday.
“There is no place for sexual abuse and we will take every report seriously, regardless of when it took place.
“As part of Police Scotland’s commitment to keeping people safe, I would encourage anyone with concerns about a child or young person’s safety to contact police.”