Baby's abusers are jailed for life
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Two men behind Scotland's largest paedophile ring were jailed for life yesterday for creating a catalogue of child pornography and abusing children, including a three-month-old baby.
Neil Strachan, a convicted sex offender who is HIV-positive, was told he would spend a minimum of 16 years behind bars. His accomplice James Rennie, once a respected youth worker, was jailed for at least 13 years at the High Court in Edinburgh. Strachan, 41, was found guilty earlier this year of attempting to rape an 18-month-old boy and sexually assaulting a boy of six.
Rennie, 38, the former boss of LGBT Youth Scotland, an organisation dedicated to helping young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, was convicted of molesting a young boy over more than four years, beginning when the child was three months old.
The pair, both of Edinburgh, were convicted alongside six other men who have already been sentenced. They were further found guilty of conspiring to abuse children, as were three other members of the network, after a 10-week trial. Referring to Strachan's abuse of the 18-month-old boy, which was captured in a picture known as the "Hogmanay image", Judge Lord Bannatyne said: "What is shown in that photograph is utterly appalling and would shock to the core any right-minded person."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.