A Dunfermline man who sexually abused teenagers has been jailed for four and a half years.
Gary Hempseed was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
Hempseed, 57, was found guilty of a string of charges relating to three girls when he stood trial at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in August.
Sheriff Charles Macnair explained Hempseed’s actions were so serious he considered sending Hempseed to the High Court for an even stiffer sentence.
Hempseed attacked one of the girls as she pretended to sleep in his home.
She only escaped the former lorry driver’s house when he went to answer a phone call.
Sheriff Macnair said: “You have been convicted of a number of sexual offences against three young girls, including two of them when they were children and the third when the complainer was only just of the age of 16 years.”
He said one of the girl had been “groomed” by the accused.
He said another charge was, “very much more serious in that that involved a girl who was staying in your house and was only just 16 and you took advantage of her when she was there.
“It was clear from the jury’s verdict, there was no consent.
“That is towards the high end of sexual offences.
“You then took photographs of her without her permission.
“It’s only by a fairly narrow margin that I don’t remit this case to the High Court for sentence.
“There is no appropriate alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Convicted of seven charges
Hempseed, who appeared by video link from HMP Perth, was convicted of seven of the nine charges he faced after a four-day trial.
One girl, 16 at the time, was sexually assaulted by Hempseed at his home on Skye Road on November 17, 2019.
He had also taken an intimate photograph of her on his mobile phone.
The girl previously told the trial how she had been invited to the house after a night drinking and had pretended to be asleep during her ordeal until she took the chance to flee.
Between August 2013 and August 2016 at a property in Dunfermline, he engaged in sexual activity with another girl, who had not yet turned 16.
He also did so between when she turned 16 until shortly after she turned 19.
Jurors acquitted Hempseed of two other charges relating to her.
He sexually assaulted a different child between the ages of 13 and 16 on occasions between November 2015 and November 2017 across different addresses in Dunfermline.
He continued this behaviour until November 2019.
Jurors agreed that on one occasion, between January 2018 and September 2019, he sexually assaulted the same person.
In a hot tub, he placed another man’s hand on her private parts and forced his hand to touch her body there.
Accused maintains his innocence
Hempseed was sentenced to a total of four and a half years behind bars.
A sexual offences prevention order was issued, banning him from ever contacting any of the victims.
His defence solicitor Aime Allan explained Hempseed still denies any wrongdoing.
She said: “Clearly, Mr Hempseed’s position is one of innocence.
“He’s 57 years of age and has a very limited record of non-analogous offending.
“He’s a man who’s worked throughout his life up until he 2019, where he lost his employment as a HGV driver.
“He believes this was as a result of the pending court case.
“He’s aware of the severity of the charges.”
