A Dundee takeaway owner who spent nearly two decades subjecting a little boy and young girl to horrifying sexual assaults has been jailed.
Ghulam Bajwa, 41, preyed on his victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at various locations in the Dundee area between September 2001 and May 2019.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Bajwa started abusing the girl in February 2007.
His abuse of the child came just six to seven years after he indecently assaulted a teenage boy at a house in Broughty Ferry.
‘No alternative’ to custody
Bajwa’s abuse of the little girl started with repeated sexual assaults, before he raped her in 2018.
Bajwa’s sick conduct only came to an end when she confided in a friend when she was 20.
The girl then plucked up enough courage to speak to police, who managed to bring enough evidence to bring Bajwa to court.
During the proceedings, Bajwa denied any wrongdoing and claimed his two victims were liars.
On Wednesday afternoon, jurors returned guilty verdicts to charges of sexual assault and rape.
Shortly after the jury returned their verdicts, judge Lord Braid remanded the first offender in custody.
He said there would be “no alternative to a custodial sentence” but background reports are needed before he announced its length in August.
‘It’s all lies’
The court heard how Bajwa, of Brown Constable Street, Dundee, is the proprietor of the Curryyummy restaurant in the city’s Hilltown area.
He targeted his first victim on an occasion between September 2001 and September 2002.
The youngster had been staying with a relative when Bajwa assaulted him.
In February 2007, Bajwa targeted the young female.
The abuse continued to May 2019.
Jurors heard how Bajwa raped his victim sometime between January 1 2018 and December 31, 2018.
During the trial, Bajwa told the court that he was innocent.
When asked by defence advocate Matt Jackson QC, what he thought of the claims, Bajwa replied: “It’s all lies.”
Jurors, who observed proceedings from a cinema five miles away from the court room, returned guilty verdicts.
Lord Braid also placed Bajwa on the Sex Offenders Register.
