Borders butcher who abducted and sexually assaulted girl, 11, is sentenced
Last updated 18th Oct 2023
A cross-dressing butcher who admitted abducting and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in the Scottish Borders has today (Wednesday) been handed a 28 year extended sentence.
Andrew Miller (pictured), who also goes by the name Amy George, lured the child into his car while dressed as a woman in February of this year.
He had offered to give the girl a lift home but instead drove her to his house in Gattonside, took her into a bedroom and refused to let her leave.
The 53-year-old - who also pled guilty to possessing more than 200 indecent mages of children and intentionally causing a child under the age of 13 to look at a sexual image - then subjected her to a series of sexual assaults over the course of the next 27 hours.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told the girl was only able to escape after Miller fell asleep - giving her time to find his landline and dial 999.
Police arrived within minutes and described how the child was "shaken and crying".
READ MORE: Former Melrose butcher has name stripped from High Street
The judge in the case, Lord Arthurson, described Miller's actions as "every parent's worst nightmare".
At one point, the pervert told her he intended to keep her for a week, and on another occasion he told her that he was not going to let her leave as she was his "new family".
The court was told that Miller is transgender and in the process of transitioning to female. He was not known to his victim before he abducted her.
At the time of his arrest, he was presenting as Amy George but confirmed he wished to be addressed as Andrew Miller using "he" pronouns.
He was wearing tights, female pants and a bra containing one silicone breast when police arrested him - the other having become dislodged during a struggle.
Officers also found a large stuffed doll on a bed within the main bedroom, with ropes attached to the corners of the bed and a sex toy and baby oil visible on the headboard.
The court heard the part this radio station played in bringing Miller to justice, after he initially protested his innocence in an early police interview - although we can't go into more details for legal reasons.
His defence agent, Victoria Dow, said he “recognises and feels the horror of his conduct”, adding "he feels a considerable and enduring sense of shame".
Miller, who appeared in person in the dock and was deemed a medium-risk of reoffending, blamed a collapse of his home life and increased alcoholism for his behaviour.
He has been jailed for 20 years and will serve a further eight years under supervision in the community on his release.
The court heard the indecent images in Miller's possession had been collected over a 19-year period and included the anal rape of a young child.
Passing sentence, Lord Arthurson praised the courage of the trans butcher's victim and said the suffering caused to her and her family was "incalculable and life-changing".
He said it was obvious the young girl would not have got into the butcher's car had he been dressed as a man.
Lord Arthurson described Miller's actions as "brazen and chilling", pointing out that the lock attached to the outside of his bedroom door appeared new.
And the narrative presented in court, he added, was "frankly nauseating in its level of depravity and criminal deviance".
What else did the Judge say?
On sentencing, Lord Arthurson made the following remarks in court:
"Your victim was unknown to you. You picked her up in your car while dressed in female clothing. You took her to your house where you kept her confined in your bedroom and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
"Your victim repeatedly asked to be allowed to go home. You told her that you intended to keep her for a week and on another occasion that you were not going to let her leave as she was your 'new family'.
"The crime of abduction itself in this case was brazen and chilling. One only has to ask oneself the simple question: would an 11-year-old girl have willingly entered your car had you presented as a man? The answer is that obviously she would not.
'Your intentions were wicked and predatory, and clearly involved a substantial component of planning'
"Through a display of remarkable courage and initiative your victim was able, while you slept on the second night of her captivity, to locate a landline and call 999. She had been unable to open the front door, which had of course been locked by you with a key which had been removed. No less than nine police officers arrived to rescue her. She was understandably shaken and crying.
"A risk assessment report has been made available for this morning’s sentencing hearing. The assessor concludes that the nature, seriousness and pattern of your behaviour indicates a propensity to seriously endanger the lives, or physical or psychological well‑being, of the public at large, and that you have characteristics which are persistent and pervasive. That having been said, the author is of the view that these characteristics may be amenable to change; that there is some evidence of protective factors; that you have the capacity and willingness to engage in appropriate intervention; and that measures short of lifelong restriction may be sufficient to minimise the risk of serious harm to others.
"The abduction of young children from the streets of our cities, towns and villages for the purpose of their sexual torment over a prolonged period by a captor is mercifully rare in this jurisdiction.
'It is a uniquely appalling crime, striking as it does at the heart of family life and indeed the very fabric of our society.'
"It is a crime that brings justifiable universal opprobrium upon the offender and which rightly merits the severest level of punishment properly available to our courts. It is what the public has every right to expect, and today it is what you shall receive.
'The suffering of your victim and her family at your hands has been incalculable and life‑changing. The trauma further inflicted by you upon her local community and the wider public is also immeasurable'
"Standing (i) the overwhelming evidence against you, (ii) the courageous actions taken by your victim while in your custody which led to your red handed discovery by police officers, (iii) your victim‑blaming and your denials of abduction and in particular your denials of your sexual offending, which led to an unnecessary and re‑traumatising intimate medical examination of your victim, and (iv) the overarching sentencing requirement that condign punishment be imposed by the court in cases of this gravity, I have decided in the exercise of my discretion to restrict considerably the discount that you might have expected to receive for your early plea in respect of the custodial part of this disposal.
"You will accordingly serve an extended sentence of 28 years duration. The custodial part will comprise a period of 20 years. The extension period will be one of 8 years. This sentence will be backdated to the date of your initial remand into custody in this case, namely to February 9th, 2023.
"Finally, as a result of this disposal you will henceforth be subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for an indefinite period."
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