OAP convicted of historic sex abuse of two young boys

13 February 2019

A pensioner has been convicted of sexually abusing two boys more than 30 years ago.

William Quigg, 77, of Bridge of Weir, raped Ian Johnstone when he was aged between 12 and 15 and sexually abused another teenage boy.

The offences took place between 1980 and 1986 at addresses in Glasgow.

Mr Johnstone, who waived his right to anonymity to speak to BBC Scotland news, said he was abused by Quigg on a daily basis.

He said the abuse began after he was placed with a foster family in Clydebank. Quigg was his foster father.

"Basically over the five or six years I was with them sexual abuse was basically a daily occurrence," he said.

"And severe sexual abuse occurred on many occasions."

Mr Johnstone has called for a change in the law on reporting child abuse

Mr Johnstone said he first complained about Quigg, a former Scout leader and Scout commissioner, in 1989.

He said he was a scout in Quigg's troop.

He believes a number of people suspected he was a paedophile and did nothing.

He wants a change in the law.

"I think if somebody chooses not to report child abuse, in some ways they're almost as guilty because they're allowing it to happen; they're enabling it to happen," he said.

"I think it should be against the law. Certainly it would have stopped a lot quicker if somebody had reported it sooner."

'Distressing' case

Speaking of getting justice more than 30 years on, he said: "There's no victory in this at all for me. There's a release and a moving forward. Can I move on from it? Maybe, with this verdict maybe I can move on."

Quigg admitted sexually abusing one boy when he was aged between 12 and 15, but he denied raping Mr Johnstone and sexually abusing him from the age of 12 to 16.

But the jury did not believe him and convicted him of all the abuse.

Judge Lord Burns described the case as "distressing" and placed Quigg on the sex offenders register.

He was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at the High Court in Livingston next month.

Defence counsel Euan Dow will give his plea in mitigation then.