Ayrshire sex attacker given 12-year jail sentence
- Published
Hugh Derby was jailed for 12 years at the High Court in Edinburgh
A persistent sex offender who acted in a "premeditated and predatory manner" has been jailed for 12 years.
Hugh Derby, 52, targeted three of his victims when they were asleep and under the influence.
He took part in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl at a flat in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire, after she was intoxicated with drink and drugs.
He was found guilty of a number of offences and was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh.
A judge told Derby, formerly of Auchinleck, that he had been convicted of "grave and serious charges".
He had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was convicted of four offences of sexual assault, one of sexual activity towards an underage girl and one of indecent assault and rape.
He claimed that some victims had consented and that on other occasions the offences did not take place at all. But he was found guilty by a jury.
Isolated victims
Judge Thomas Welsh KC told him: "You clearly acted in a premeditated and predatory manner, identifying and isolating your victims when they were most vulnerable and unable to resist your approaches."
He said one woman had been attacked by Derby in 2013 while on a camping expedition at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire.
His offending began in 2000 when he took part in an indecent assault and rape of the 15-year-old girl in Auchinleck with others.
In 2011 he targeted another victim in an attack in the same town.
Two years later he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old child and later molested the same girl at a Calvin Harris concert in Glasgow.
His final victim was subjected to a sexual assault at an address in Auchinleck in 2019.
Defence counsel Ian Duguid KC said it was "inevitable" that Derby would face a prison sentence following his convictions.
He said he had no record for sexual offending, although he had previous convictions for assault.
In addition to his jail term, Derby was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.