Fife physiotherapist jailed for sex attacks on women

A physiotherapist who committed a series of sex attacks on four women has been jailed for nine years.

Derek Adams, 59, from Dunfermline, carried out the attacks over 20 years in West Lothian, Fife, and Glasgow.

He denied a string of charges, but was convicted of 12 offences including two rapes, an attempted rape and an indecent assault.

He was also found guilty of physically assaulting four women and two children, including a two-year-old girl.

Adams was further convicted of threatening or abusive behaviour towards one woman, during the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in March.

One victim told the court that after he raped her, he said: "That makes us even."

Lady Carmichael ordered Adams to be supervised for three years following his release from custody.

She also made an indefinite non harassment order, preventing Adams from contacting or communicating with one of his victims.

Lady Carmichael said: "The picture with which I am presented in the criminal justice social work report is of someone who does not recognise he has done anything wrong and continues to blame the complainers."

Adams' offending began in 1985 when he was violent towards a woman in Clarkston, Glasgow. He attempted to rape another woman at a house in the area between 1989 and 1990.

He carried out a sex attack on another woman at a house in Winchburgh, West Lothian, in 1996.

Prosecutor Alan Cameron told jurors that the evidence produced a clear picture of a "bullying and controlling man" who was prepared to force women into sexual activity when the conditions were right.

Defence advocate Stephen O'Rourke QC said that Adams had been convicted of "very serious matters" and it was clear that a lengthy prison sentence was inevitable.