A married sex offender who abused three girls over a 17 year period was caught after being spotted taking a child into his house by the mother of one of his victims.
Twisted John Short was locked up after a jury at the High Court in Glasgow heard details of his sickening abuse, including grooming a 12-year-old girl he went on to rape. The police probe, launched in 2011, started after the chance encounter.
A source close to her family revealed: “One of Short’s victims told her mother what he’d put her through. Not long after he was spotted taking a young girl and a laptop computer into his house.
“The sight of Short with the child resulted in him being reported to the police and the investigation being launched.
“Short could still be on the streets if the victim and her mother hadn’t had the courage to come forward.”
Last month the High Court in Glasgow heard how Short, of Garnethill in Glasgow, attacked his victims over a 17-year period.
The 57-year-old former brewery worker was convicted of multiple charges of rape and sex attacks between 1984 and 2001.
The family friend explained: “Short was able to gain access to his victims by offering to look after children. He was trusted and the kids were too terrified to talk of the ordeals he put them through.
“It’s unlikely his offending stopped in 2001. The bravery of the victims who came forward has ensured others don’t have to suffer like they did.”
One victim told the court how she was first targeted by Short aged just 12.
As a result of the abuse she began skipping school and running away from home. Unable to speak to anyone her life spiralled further and she struggled to cope into her adult life.
Short also abused two other girls. He deliberately exposed himself to a nine-year-old, while he also preyed on an eight-year-old in the late 1990s in Milngavie, near Glasgow.
He claimed he has been a victim of a “vendetta”, and insisted it was nothing to do him, saying: “I believe something happened to these girls but by someone else.”
But prosecutor Jane Farquharson rubbished the claims insisting it was nothing more than a “smokescreen”.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe