Child rapist who preyed on four young girls over two decades jailed

A child rapist who preyed on four underage girls has been jailed for 12 years and nine months.

Brian Stobie abused victims before later turning to social media seeking child sex abuse images, unaware he was dealing with adults on the internet.

The 70-year-old was then the subject of a live streamed confrontation at his home address over his online criminal conduct.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You have never been sentenced to a period of imprisonment.”

Judge Alison Stirling said: “Custody is the only appropriate disposal having regard to the serious nature of your offending.”

She told Stobie that he would be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely following his sentencing.

The judge pointed out he was found guilty of sex crimes against four girls who were under the age of 16, with three of them being under the age of 12 when the offending began.

She said one woman was left struggling with issues of trust and with maintaining intimate relationships and had avoided the area where her abuser lived.

Stobie had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was convicted of eight offences – involving one of rape, one of indecent assault and six of indecent conduct committed between 1990 and 2007 in Edinburgh.

The former bus driver admitted a further four charges of attempting to communicate indecently with underage girls in August 2022 when he was actually in contact with adults.

Stobie, formerly of Leith, encouraged child victims to sit on his knee and molested them during visits to a flat. He also exposed himself on occasions and subjected one girl to rape.

Advocate depute Martin Crawford told jurors during the trial: “The Crown case is that the accounts that these women have given can be accepted by you as credible and reliable.”

The prosecutor said: “These were experiences that happened when they were children, in circumstances which were outwith their control.”

Stobie, who was remanded in custody during his trial after failing to appear on the second day, did not give evidence in his own defence.

Defence counsel Andrew Crosbie said Stobie was the subject of “a sting” following the communication offences in 2022 when a confrontation at his home was live streamed and videoed.

He said: “He accepts that he has been convicted of offences of real gravity against a number of complainers and it follows from that that he is facing a lengthy custodial sentence.”

The judge made non harassment orders prohibiting Stobie approaching or contacting the four victims.