Paedo Scots football coach convicted of more sex crimes in 26-year reign of terror

Scottish Sun

a day ago

It comes three years after he was first jailed for a string of depraved sex attacks
SICK PERV Paedo Scots football coach convicted of more sex crimes in 26-year reign of terror
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AN EX-football coach who inflicted a 26-year reign of sexual terror over boys, has been found guilty of more sex crimes.
Russell Conn, who managed teams for almost 30 years in Ayrshire, preyed on teenagers when they were alone.
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Russell Conn targeted teenagers when they were alone
Credit: John Gunion - The Sun Glasgow
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He has now been found guilty of more sex crimes at the High Court in Glasgow
Credit: Getty
The 62-year-old was previously jailed for 'grooming and abusing' three boys between 1995 and 2014, leaving them 'deeply damaged'.
He was put behind bars for nine years in December 2022 after being found guilty of abusing boys in his work van.
And this week has has now been found guilty of another series of attacks between 1999 and 2021.
Conn was yesterday convicted of raping two youngsters and sexually assaulting two other boys at the High Court in Glasgow.
This brings the total number of the pervert's confirmed victims to seven.
Conn committed the crimes at different locations across Glasgow and Ayrshire.
This included addresses in Beith, Ardrossan and Saltcoats, as well as in his vehicle while it was parked near Ibrox stadium.
The court heard that Conn repeatedly abused one youngster, who was aged between 14 and 15 at the time.
Another young boy was targeted in 2004 and 2005 at a school in Ayrshire.
He was found guilty of indecently assaulting the boy on several occasions when he was between 15 and 19 years of age.
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Conn later raped the same boy when he was in his 20s after forcing himself into his home in Saltcoats.
The court heard that he restrained him and clamped his hand over his mouth.
Conn, who also worked as a delivery driver, bus driver, and a painter and decorator, denied the accusations during the trial.
A further charge of lewd and libidinous conduct was found not proven by jurors.
Conn, who is currently serving time in Low Moss Prison, in Bishopbriggs, is due to be sentenced for his latest crimes next month.
Conn faced the first of the fresh charges in 2023, and his lawyer, Graeme Brown, said at the hearing on Friday, June 6: "The previous case proceeded to trial and garnered publicity.
"The three complainers in this case, thereafter, came forward."
Details of his previous conviction were revealed to the court by prosecutor Eric Robertson after the verdicts were announced.
He was found guilty at the High Court in Paisley in 2022 after a jury unanimously convicted him of one charge of rape and four of sexual assault.
During his first trial, the court heard he earned their trust and had sexual conversations with them before the attacks.
The jury was told he was guilty of 'the grooming and manipulation and sexual abuse of teenage boys', and would often give victims money as well as cigarettes.
His first victim, now in his 40s, previously told how he blamed himself for the abuse and said he had planned to die without ever revealing what had happened.
He said he 'buried' what happened to him and 'withdrew' into his 'shell', adding: 'I had made peace with myself and thought I'd take it to my grave with me.
'I put it in a wee box at the back of my head but there's barely been a day gone by where I've not thought about it.'
His second victim tried to kill himself within seconds of being forced on to a couch and abused in Conn's home.
He was later unable to hold down a job because of mental health problems and struggles to go to the toilet due to the abuse.
And his third victim, now in his 20s, was discharged from the Armed Forces and spent time in a mental hospital after revealing what had happened to him.
After the first trial, Judge Andrew Cubie told him at the High Court in Glasgow: 'You were convicted of charges which was deliberate, calculated sexual abuse of three young men.
'Their evidence was powerful about their shame, experiences and effect it had on them.
'The offences were motivated by your own sexual appetite and sexual satisfaction.
'You express no remorse, understanding or empathy for the wrongdoing you have done or harm you have caused.
'You were able to carry on your own life while the victims suffered the consequences of your actions and you avoided justice into your seventies.
'Society has a repugnance to such crimes and the court must reflect that.'