Renfrew man jailed for serious sexual abuse of children
A man from Renfrew has been sentanced to 8 years behind bars after being convicted of the serious sexual abuse of children.
A man from Renfrew has been sentanced to 8 years behind bars after being convicted of the serious sexual abuse of children.
30-year-old Hugh Sim was also found guilty of distributing indecent images - he was caught when he sent them to a chat room in New Zealand which was being monitored by Police.
Sim was placed on the sex offenders' register at the High Court in Glasgow and will be monitored in the community after his release
Detective Chief Inspector Fil Capaldi of the Renfrewshire and Inverclyde Public protection Unit said:
“There is nothing more precious than the innocence of a child and Hugh Sim stole that innocence. Members of the public will be rightly horrified and sickened at the details of this case.
“Hugh Sim’s sentence today reflects the gravity of his actions and demonstrates that there is no hiding place for people who commit these types of depraved crimes against children, wherever they may be – crimes which would have impacted on this young girl’s ability to enjoy a normal, happy childhood.
“I must praise the swift actions of the Police Scotland officers and detectives from the New Zealand Police Service involved in this inquiry. Within 20 minutes of receiving the information which emanated from a pro-active enquiry by colleagues in New Zealand, they responded, gained access to Sim’s address, detained him and rescued his young victim from that situation.
“Police Scotland will proactively use advancements in technology, digital media and the internet to investigate online abuse whilst working with our national and international partners. We have a full range of investigative tools and techniques at our disposal in order to identify and investigate those who exploit computer networks to sexually abuse children and young people.
“Police Scotland is absolutely committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities, none more so than our children. Our pursuit of offenders like Sim is relentless and my message to them is clear – you are not anonymous, we will work tirelessly with other law enforcement agencies to track you down and ensure that you are held accountable for your offending.”