James Rennie - Chief Executive of LBGT Youth Scotland GUILTY Molesting babies

The men were convicted of abusing infants from three months old and conspiracy and holding more than 125,000 images of child pornography...

A ring of eight paedophiles, including a former welfare campaigner for young gay men, were yesterday convicted of child abuse and producing indecent images of children.

The men, from across central Scotland, were found guilty by a jury in Edinburgh of more than 50 charges, ranging from abusing infants from three months old to conspiracy and holding more than 125,000 images of child pornography.

Two of the leaders of the gang, the biggest paedophile network uncovered in Scotland, were convicted of raping and abusing the young children of close friends while they were babysitting, and sharing images of the abuse.

One, James Rennie, 38, then the chief executive of the gay and lesbian helpline LBGT Youth Scotland, had been babysitting the son of close friends, called Child F during the trial, since the child was three months old. The child's parents were so comfortable with Rennie that he was allowed to bathe, change and dress the boy, whom he went on to abuse repeatedly for four years, allowing another ring-leader, Neil Strachan, to participate.

An engineer with previous convictions for child sex offences, Strachan, 41, had photographed himself trying to abuse an 18-month-old boy he was babysitting for friends on New Year's Eve in 2005.

Rennie, a former secondary school teacher since sacked from the helpline, had championed the rights of young gay people. But in private, said Dorothy Bain QC, prosecuting, he had been "polluted by deviant compulsion".

During one of the most harrowing trials of its kind, the images were so graphic that the court had to be cleared of the public and media during the 10-week hearing. At one stage, the judge, Lord Bannatyne, suddenly adjourned the hearing without explanation after hearing about the rape of a four-year-old girl.

The police uncovered the paedophile ring after Strachan, a maintenance engineer for a paint firm and formerly secretary of Celtic Boys Club in Edinburgh, handed his computer in for repair. On its hard drive, a repair technician found an image of an 11-year-old boy abusing himself.

A further 7,000 images were found, together with emails clearly showing that other children were at serious risk. Lothian and Borders detectives launched Operation Algebra, and were given warrants by courts in the United States to obtain email records from Microsoft. Expert witnesses were able to identify one digital camera used to record the abuse from the photographs.

That investigation exposed Rennie's identity. He had assumed the email name "Kenny Plover", whose email address "kplover99" was said to stand for "kiddie porn lover". His email account was accessed from the offices of LGBT Youth Scotland in Leith, Edinburgh.

Sophisticated tracking equipment then located Rennie's broadband Wi-Fi signals in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh.

Strachan, using the name "Mark", sent Rennie images of his abuse of the toddler on New Year's Eve. Further investigations by police uncovered the identities of the other six men who made, shared and collected abusive images: Colin Slaven, 23, from Edinburgh; Neil Campbell, 46, John Milligan, 40, and John Murphy, 44, all of Glasgow; Ross Webber, 27, from North Berwick; and Craig Boath, 24, from Dundee.

Milligan had 78,000 images in his possession. He was allowed to listen on the telephone to Rennie abusing the toddler, and had discussed getting access to the boy. Webber, Boath and Milligan were found guilty of conspiring to participate in the sexual abuse of children along with Strachan and Rennie. Campbell was cleared of conspiracy. The men will be sentenced later.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"
.........Sarah Tofte