Colin MacDonald was a trusted instructor whose skills in mountaineering and outdoor activities placed him in demand at youth camps but at night he would creep into boys' tents and attack them, knowing none of their friends could hear their cries for help.

Justice finally caught up with MacDonald after two of his victims exchanged text messages decades later and went to the police.

MacDonald (61) was found guilty of 10 charges of sodomy and attempted sodomy, sexual assault and lewd and libidinous behaviour but as he was led away his victims insisted there could be as many as 100 other abused youngsters yet to come forward.

The attacks happened at various locations including Aviemore, Glendoll, Sutherland, Mallaig, Glencoe, and the isles of Rhum and Harris.

His youngest victim was just 10 and the oldest 15 during the abuse between 1973 and 1983. Eight charges were dropped during the two-week trial.

MacDonald admitted abuse while being quizzed by Scottish detectives at Wakefield, Yorkshire, where he fled after one of his victims confronted him. Northern Constabulary's child protection unit received a tip-off in 2006, the High Court in Kilmarnock heard.

Macdonald, a deaf-mute who spoke through a sign language interpreter, said he became interested in mountaineering as a youngster.

After tackling some of the world's most famous peaks he became involved in the Deaf Mountaineering Club and other activities with the community.

He became agitated when DC Nicola Marshall questioned him about the boys, some of whom he described as 'troublemakers'.

DC Marshall asked him: "Did you check on them in the night?"

Macdonald replied: "Sometimes", adding he was a closet bisexual.

DC Marshall revealed: "This person we've spoken to has told us of several incidents at camping trips."

MacDonald told her: "I can't remember, I can't remember. He always invents stuff. I'm confused. I can't comment."

DC Marshall added: "He said a few days later it happened again and later you went to his parents and offered to take him on a free holiday.

'Why would he say these things if they're not true?"

MacDonald responded: "It's his way."

MacDonald, of Sun Lane, Wakefield, but formerly of Glasgow, was convicted mainly on unanimous verdicts after forcing his victims to give evidence through sign language interpreters.

They spoke of feeling the cold as their sleeping bags were unzipped in the dark and their fear as MacDonald's beard touched them.

Some cried out in terror, but all the other youngsters were deaf.

The judge, Lord Malcolm, deferred sentence until next month for psychological and background reports including a risk assessment.

Lord Malcolm refused bail, telling MacDonald: "You have been convicted of extremely serious charges and I'm not prepared to grant you bail. You will be remanded in custody meantime.

"I will also be considering whether to refer your case to Scottish Ministers under the Protection of Children Act with a view to your inclusion on the list of persons who are unsuitable to work with children."

MacDonald was also put on the Sex Offenders Register.

Outside court, some of MacDonald's victims spoke of the damage he had done to them and their relief at his conviction.

"Jim"* (48), a father-of-two from Glasgow, was 14 when he was attacked in his camp tent on the Isle of Rhum.

"I felt horrible, sick and upset," he said. "I didn't know what was happening. When my daughter was born I wasn't able to touch her in the bath because it all came back to me. I couldn't bond with her because of him and what he did."

Years later "Jim" spotted MacDonald at a deaf club in England and confronted him. "I called him a b****** and he went white. Six or seven of the others had to pull me away."

The labourer added: "This started out with 18 charges but it should have been 100 because other people are scared to come forward. But now he's going to jail I'm happy. I hate him."

"Andy", also 48, was abused at the same camp as "Jim" and at the next one. He said: "I felt my sleeping bag zipper open and the cold getting in. I put my hand up and I could feel Colin's beard.

"Next day I told Jim I wanted to go home because I was so upset. Then I found out Colin had abused all nine boys who were there.

"I was a young boy back then and happy to be skiing and doing active hobbies with my deaf friends.

"But at night-time I was afraid because I knew he'd come for me."

"Andy", a council worker, added: "'Jim' texted me in May 2007 and we both went to the police together."

He turned to drink to blot out the abuse and still suffers mood swings.

"Now he's locked up, I'm over the moon. I hope he stays in jail for the rest of his life."

"Joe" (46), a forklift driver from Dunbartonshire, was 14 when he was abused by MacDonald on a skiing trip in Glencoe.

He said: "He took us all to the pub and bought us cider than we went back to this wee cottage where we were sleeping.

"At night I felt his beard touch me. I tried to shout out but all my friends were deaf. I was too scared to tell anybody."

One victim abused during a trip to Aviemore said: "I woke up and Colin MacDonald was behind me. I tried to get away but his hands were gripping tightly on to my hips. He was a big man and I was a wee boy.

"I was lying on my front and I was screaming."

Asked by Kath Harper, prosecuting, how long the attack lasted, he replied: "It felt like a lifetime."

He added: "When he was finished with me, he went on to (another boy) and did the same thing to him. He was screaming too.

"I saw MacDonald do the same thing to him as he did to me. It lasted a few minutes and then MacDonald walked out.

"He told us to go to sleep. I was crying. We just looked at each other. We were both confused and did not know what to expect.

"We avoided talking about it and tried to forget it. He was my best friend and I never saw him after that because of MacDonald."

The witness said he was too frightened to reveal anything about the incident until the police contacted him by email before the trial.

* Names have been changed to protect the identities of MacDonald's victims.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---