A Fife man has been jailed for seven years for the rape and sexual abuse of two young girls.
William Walls, 47, of Cowdenbeath, repeatedly preyed on the girls over the course of a decade during the 1980s.
One was assaulted in play areas, including a tree house, a field and an abandoned house and the other was lifted from her bed and raped on a table.
He began targeting one of the youngsters when he himself was only 12 years old and his catalogue of abuse continued into adulthood.
At the High Court in Glasgow on Friday, judge Lord Beckett said only a custodial sentence was appropriate for the severity of the crimes committed by Walls, whose brother is serving a sentence for offences of the same type.
He told him: “The charges of which you were convicted were serious and there was an element of breach of trust involved.
“You committed serious sexual abuse against two young children.”
Walls, of Primmer Place, was convicted of four charges following a four day trial at the High Court in Dunfermline at which his victims gave evidence.
A jury found him guilty of of using lewd, indecent and libidinous practices towards one girl between July 1981 and April 1989 and raping her several times between April 1984 and April 1989.
The other girl he subjected to lewd, indecent and libidinous practices between February 1987 and February 1991 and raped once between February 1989 and February 1991.
The first victim told the trial that Walls would target her while she was out playing with friends but she was too scared to tell anyone.
The last time he assaulted her, which was in a field, she kicked him off, climbed a fence and ran home as he shouted “I’m going to tell your dad”.
She only revealed the abuse she had suffered years later to her husband when she kept getting flashbacks.
Defending, solicitor advocate Gordon Martin said Walls had indicated he himself had suffered problems in childhood which will have led to him not knowing appropriate social and sexual boundaries.
Since the crimes were committed Walls had, Mr Martin said, gone on to become a respected individual and contribute to society, with the support of his family.
Lord Beckett said Walls had numerous references from friends and family members who trusted and held him in high regard.
However, he told Walls: “None of these people heard the evidence of the complainers. The jury did and they accepted that evidence and rejected the evidence on which you relied.”
