Police stopped a Dundee paedophile pensioner from killing himself after his victim’s family gave them a suicide note he posted through their door.
Thomas Hutton “swallowed every tablet in the house” two days before a court appearance to admit 12 charges of horrific abuse against five youngsters stretching over almost ten years.
But the 78-year-old’s plan to end his life was thwarted by officers who had been alerted by the family and Hutton was today jailed for almost five years for his reign of abuse.
The offences began in 2005 but was only stopped in August of last year when his first victim came forward.
Hutton was caught after one of the female victims became upset when she was told she would be seeing him, and told her parents of the abuse she had suffered.
George Donnelly, defending, said Hutton accepts “total and utter responsibilty for these charges” and, two days before he was due to appear in court to admit the charges, he had tried to kill himself.
Mr Donnelly added: “Ironically, it was the family of the victim that saved his life.”
Hutton, of Park Road, pleaded guilty to on indictment to 12 charges. These included three of using lewd, libidinous practices and behaviour, four of sexual assault and five under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond jailed Hutton for four years and ten months with an extended sentence on his release of a further four years and placed him on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
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