Scots sex attack lawyer John Watt has appeal bid quashed after victims speak out
dailyrecord.co.ukA former Scots lawyer has failed in his bid to have some of his historic sex crimes quashed. The ex-prosecutor and and criminal defence counsel, John Watt, lost his appeal at the Criminal Appeal Court last month.The Scottish Courts and Tribunals website published their judgement summary today, February 3, and said there had been no miscarriage of justice in Watt’s conviction for historical rape and sexual abuse.He was jailed for 10 years last summer for sexually abusing four young children between 1973 and 1987 at houses in Edinburgh.
He was granted leave to appeal on two charges against one victim - one charge of rape and the other of lewd, libidinous and indecent practicesThe appeal was based on claims from the defence that the complainer's "late father sexually abused her during childhood, headed a paedophile ring involving prominent legal professionals and instigated her abuse by members of the ring." They also alleged that the victim hadn't named Watt until 2014, despite making claims as far back as 2000, and that the former lawyer didn't move to Edinburgh until 1978.Watt launched an appeal claiming he was denied a fair trial as he was not able to present evidence that the complainer had previously named other alleged abusers in a paedophile ring but he was among the last to be named and the complainer did not remember him until the late stages of her disclosure.But the appeal judges threw out his bid, saying that they "were not persuaded that any unfairness arose" from the preliminary hearing decision.
It was ruled that any evidence about a supposed paedophile ring or other alleged abusers was “plainly collateral, irrelevant and inadmissible” - and found that there was no miscarriage of justice.The ruling came just
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