A Perthshire man who abducted 12-year-old boy and tried to drag him into woods has been compulsorily detained under mental health laws.
Mark Little, 40, approached the stranger near Dunblane Railway Station.
The youngster managed to struggle free and ran home to tell his parents, who called police.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard he “picked him up”, pulled him to the ground, and, detaining him against his will, dragged him towards a nearby wooded area.
The incident happened in broad daylight at 11am on June 8 2018.
Little, of Doune, appeared for sentence at Falkirk Sheriff Court having pled guilty earlier this year to assault and abduction.
Solicitor Gary McIlravey, defending, said Little was currently subject to a compulsory detention order, imposed by a Mental Health Tribunal.
Sheriff Christopher Shead deferred sentence until September 9, when a supplementary psychiatric report will be ordered.
He added: “At the moment Mr Little is not free to leave his locked environment until November at the earliest.”
Child killer’s extra prison time
Convicted child killer Jordan McCready has been handed extra time behind bars after he bit a prison officer during a scuffle at HMP Perth. McCready, who was caged for life in 2012 for the murder of 13-year-old Jon Wilson, lashed out at staff in a row over medication.
Bong
A Perth man lost his job and his driving licence for getting behind the wheel after “smoking a bong”.
Stephen McAllister was pulled over by police acting on a tip-off at Crieff Road on October 20 last year.
The 38-year-old, of The Rookery, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving a Kia Rio while eight times the permitted drug-drive limit.
Fiscal depute David Currie said: “At about 9.05pm, police had cause to stop the vehicle based on intelligence they had received.
“There was an immediate smell of cannabis emanating from the car.”
If drugs are illegal, why are there legal limits for drug-driving?
A drug wipe revealed a reading of 10 mics of THC – the psychoactive substance that produces the ‘high’ associated with marijuana – in his blood.
The legal level is 2 mics.
Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, said: “He was very frank with police and told them he had smoked a bong about half an hour before he was stopped.
“Unfortunately, this not only led to him appearing in court today but it lead led to the loss of his employment.”
Sheriff Edward Gilroy disqualified McAllister from driving for a year and fined him £100.
‘I’m fae Fife’
An armed thug burst into a Perth couple’s bedroom, swinging a baseball bat and demanded some weed. Paul Crossland made violent threats during the terrifying late night visit and told the pair: “I’m not one of these dafties from Perth, I’m fae Fife.”
Predator took girl to Arbroath
A Scottish sex predator has been convicted of raping a 12 year-old at a Florida hotel 20 years ago.
Matthew Mackie, 68, forced himself on the child, who was on holiday with her family in Orlando in 2002.
The 68 year-old was prosecuted for the crime in Scotland as he also preyed on the same girl here as well as a woman and another youngster.
The former soldier, of Twechar, East Dunbartonshire, will be sentenced next month.
Jurors at the High Court in Glasgow heard how Mackie and his partner had gone on holiday to Florida in the summer of 2002.
The girl and her relatives – also from Scotland – were staying at the same hotel.
The families spent time with each other during the holiday.
He also took the girl on a trip to Arbroath, Angus where he had a holiday caravan but claimed it was only because the child wanted to visit relatives there.
Mackie repeatedly said he had memory problems during his evidence – including who the 12 year-old was.
It emerged Mackie also repeatedly raped a former partner between 1999 and 2004 in Wishaw and Bellshill, both Lanarkshire.
Mackie further abused a girl between 2012 and 2019 in Twechar, starting when she was seven.
He was found guilty of the Florida rape as well lewd and libidinous behaviour on the same child.
Mackie was further convicted of raping and indecently assaulting his ex-lover and sexually assaulting the other girl.
He was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month and put on the Sex Offenders Register.
Smashed up garden
A Dundee man smashed up a Forfar garden with his car while trying to evade capture by the police. Blair Reilly, 29, already had a number of convictions, including a driving ban, when he drove dangerously in an effort to avoid arrest on the town’s Dunnichen Avenue last October.
Dundee man who raped 13-year-old girl may avoid prison due to learning difficulties
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
