An Arbroath newsagent has been put on the sex offenders register after being found guilty of sexual offences against an underage girl.
Wayne Antony Strachan (36), of Colliston, was bailed to appear for sentence on January 25.
A charge of using lewd behaviour towards a second teenage girl was found not proven by Sheriff John Rafferty.
Strachan had denied all charges, but the sheriff described him as an ”incredible witness” and did not accept his position that a series of witnesses all lied.
The sheriff said: ”His position that a series of witnesses all lied, I did not accept. His explanation regarding the drawings was incredible.
”No doubt he lied to save himself.”
The newsagent was found guilty of, on various occasions between June 1 and September 10 2009 and at various locations, committing serious sexual offences against the girl.
Finding Strachan guilty on Wednesday, Sheriff Rafferty said he found the girl ”broadly truthful” however, he also said she may not have been as truthful about the lack of consent.
He said she wasn’t telling the truth when initially interviewed by the police, probably because she wanted to continue her relationship with Strachan.
She didn’t tell her mother the truth for some time.
Sheriff Rafferty said: ”People particularly adolescents lie about sexual activity, and it’s not surprising she would rethink her role.”
Whether there was consent or not, the sheriff found that the conduct happened, and said there were numerous sources of independent evidence to verify that.
He said the Crown need only produce one, but they produced a number of independent witnesses who he accepted as truthful, and there were no discrepancies within the passage of time.
Sheriff Rafferty said he found it particularly compelling when supported by separate witnesses speaking to separate elements of the charges.
He also spoke about the various gifts Strachan gave to the girl, including the song lyrics of the Michael Jackson song ‘The Way You Make Me Feel’.
He said that, taken with the rest of the evidence, it pointed clearly to a picture of what went on.
The sheriff said: ”The Crown production of the Michael Jackson lyrics given by a man in his late 30s to a child I found particularly persuasive.”