Paedophile gang ringleaders jailed

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Neil Strachan and James Rennie, both from Edinburgh, were the ringleaders of Scotland's biggest paedophile network.

They were sentenced for a catalogue of child pornography and abuse offences which included the sexual assault of a three-month-old baby.

HIV-positive Strachan, 41, was ordered to spend a minimum of 16 years behind bars at the High Court in Edinburgh. He was found guilty of attempting to rape an 18-month-old boy and sexually assaulting a six-year-old boy at a trial earlier this year.

Rennie, 38, once a prominent and respected gay youth worker, was told he must spend at least 13 years in jail. The ex-boss of LGBT Youth Scotland, an organisation dedicated to helping young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, was convicted of molesting a young boy over more than four years, beginning when the child was aged just three months.

The pair were also convicted of a string of child porn charges alongside six other men who have already been sentenced. They were further found guilty of conspiring to abuse children, as were three other members of the network, after a 10-week trial.

The parents of Rennie's victim rejected his attempt at an apology in court. The boy's mother told STV news: "I think he's very sorry he's been caught and he's very sorry he's in the position he's in. I would expect him to still be abusing my son if he hadn't been caught. He's been assessed as a high risk, which means he's a high risk of reoffending."

The victim's parents welcomed the sentences handed down. The mother said: "I think it's what I'd hoped they would both get."

The judge, Lord Bannatyne, told Rennie the level of betrayal of his victim's parents was "truly appalling". He said: "These people had always stood by you, they had been there for you, given you their friendship, brought you into their lives and into the life of their child. You wholly betrayed that friendship and breached their trust in the grossest manner."

Strachan and Rennie were both placed on the sex offenders register for life.