A sex offender approved as a foster carer who then abused young girls in his care in Aberdeen has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. The man in his 50s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of molesting three children in the 1990s.

{mosimage}After his trial, it emerged he had already been convicted for lewd and libidinous behaviour in the 1970s. His sentence was greeted with a round of applause from members of the public at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. The court heard how on separate occasions he had gone into the three girls bedrooms and sexually assaulted them.

Sheriff Colin Harris told him: “You have been convicted by the jury of serious offences against young girls entrusted in your care by the local authority. They were vulnerable, separated from their parents, and living with strangers, but you took advantage of them by preying on them and in doing so you breached their trust. There is no other alternative for the court but to impose a sentence of imprisonment.”

It emerged he had previously been found guilty of lewd and libidinous practices against a child in the 1970s. He was fined £80 after being found guilty of lewd and libidinous practices. Aberdeen City Council admitted it knew of the conviction when the man and his wife were approved as foster parents, but did not think he had posed a risk.

Better monitoring is needed to measure how effective homelessness prevention services are, Shelter Scotland has said. Shelter’s report has recommended that more efficient monitoring and evaluation is needed as there is little to help councils in measuring how successful their prevention programmes have been in providing lasting solutions.

Phil Robinson, Chief Executive of leading Scottish care charity Quarriers responds to Unison’s press release that it was to ballot staff to take strike action regarding pay offers.

A Sheriff has come under fire for telling a drink-driver to find out how much alcohol he could get away with behind the wheel. Sheriff Robert McCreadie told James Thomson, who was in the dock: “What you should do, and the information is freely available on the internet, is find out how many bottles of beer you can drink and safely go on to drive.

A diverse range of innovative social service projects and organisations have made the shortlist for Care Accolades 2007, the “Oscars” for the sector in Scotland. Now in its fourth year, the Care Accolades, organised by the SSSC in partnership with the Scottish Executive, is Scotland’s only established awards ceremony for the social service sector. 

A Glasgow priest who had sex with Angelika Kluk has admitted having another affair – with a church musician. Details of the sexual relationship between Father Gerry Nugent and Sarah Howie were revealed by the priest this afternoon at the High Court in Edinburgh.

A big-hearted community has joined together to raise money in memory of murdered Glasgow gran Agnes Mechen. Friends and neighbours of 64-year-old – known as Nessa – organised a fundraising event in aid of National Missing Person’s Helpline charity which helped the family of the pensioner when she went missing from her Govanhill home.

A revolutionary new treatment to ease pain among diabetes sufferers will be introduced at a clinic on the outskirts of Glasgow. Within the next few weeks doctors at the Essential Health Clinic in Rutherglen will offer anodyne therapy’ for patients who suffer from the painful condition Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.

An Arbroath councillor has called for accommodation for migrant workers to be inspected and regulated following the death of a young Czech man in a caravan blaze. Petr Adamnik, 28, died after fire engulfed three caravans at Birkhill Farm, just outside Arbroath, in the early hours of Monday.

A councillor convicted of racially abusing a constituent has been selected to stand for Labour at next month’s local elections. Danny Meikle was fined after a row at his surgery with Tecwyn Thomas, about open-cast mining. He was convicted in 2005 of a racially aggravated breach of the peace for calling the Welshman “boyo”.