Burns scholar unmasked as convicted paedophile is jailed for historical abuse

Marc Sherland - formerly known as Douglas Stuart Hammond - became president of the Robert Burns World Federation before he was exposed as a convicted sex offender

A convicted paedophile who changed his name and became president of the Robert Burns World Federation has been jailed for five years after more victims of his historical abuse came forward.

Marc Sherland, now 70, was found guilty in May of indecently assaulting three teenage boys at his Paisley home between 1988 and 1990.

He was originally convicted in 1991 of abusing two boys aged eight and 10 when he worked as a council youth worker in Renfrew.

Following his earlier conviction, he disguised his past as a sex offender by changing his name, before going on to become a cultural ambassador for Burns' poetry and the Scots language.

Sentencing him at Paisley Sheriff Court, Sheriff Gillian Craig said a five-year prison sentence would be followed by three years of supervision after his release.

She also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prohibits him from having any contact with children for a period of 20 years.

Sheriff Craig said Sherland had "intentionally" gained employment working with children and that he had groomed them before carrying out his "appalling" offences.

She said Sherland's actions demonstrated his "evil intent" and a "clear pattern of predatory behaviour".

The harm caused to his victims throughout their adult life had been "devastating", the sheriff said.

She said Sherland had reported that he no longer had "deviant sexual interests in male children" but he had provided no evidence of this.

The social work report on him said he showed little to no remorse or insight, the sheriff said.

Marc Sherland became known in poetry circles and read his own work on a special Commonwealth Games edition of 'The One Show' in 2014

Peter – not his real name – is one of three men who gave evidence against Sherland in May.

He was 16 when he came into Sherland's orbit through his school and community centre in Renfrewshire.

At the time, Sherland was in his 30s and known as Douglas Stuart Hammond.

He worked as an education community worker for the old Strathclyde Regional Council.

Peter, now 52, told a jury during the trial that he was assaulted when he visited the predator's home in Stock Street, Paisley, in 1990.

He told the BBC that - after 35 years of silence - he reported it to police after discussing the incident with a mental health worker.

"I'll be honest with you, it's really hard to explain for me because I'm really just getting a grip of it myself," he said.

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