Depraved city sex beast boasted of his abuse of children

A depraved sex predator who boasted of his child abuse during online chat with other paedophiles was warned he faced a long jail sentence yesterday.
Robert HawkinsRobert Hawkins
Robert Hawkins

Former Edinburgh Sheriff Court security supervisor Robert Hawkins, 58, raped women and molested children during a 14-year catalogue of horrific sex crimes.

Hawkins carried out a painful sex attack on one little boy after the primary school pupil, who had undiagnosed dyslexia, struggled with a word in his home work.

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When police went to detain Hawkins at his home in Edinburgh they found a switched on computer with a screen saver revealing indecent images of children.

An examination of equipment
revealed that Hawkins had amassed a collection of child pornography in photos and movies, some of which were among the most extreme seen by analysts. Over 1100 images and more than 330 film clips were in the most serious category.

One analyst said she had worked on the material more than two years ago but still remembers some of the images. She said: “I have never seen children as young as six months being abused before.”

Hawkins’ online communications with other paedophiles on a file sharing site were also recovered by the police.

Hawkins, formerly of Prestonfield Road, Edinburgh, had denied raping two women, assaulting a boy and indecency offences against a girl committed between 1990 and 2004 but was convicted of all the offences today. He had previously admitted possessing child pornography between 2006 and 2016.

A judge told him: “In your evidence you claimed your accusers were liars and their allegations false. The jury has seen through your lies.”

Lord Pentland said he had not the slightest doubt that Hawkins was “a dangerous, devious sexual predator” and a serial paedophile.

The judge said: “The impact on your victims has been enormous. They all deserve enormous credit for their courage in coming forward and giving evidence in the present proceedings.”

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“You must have thought that with the passage of time you had escaped justice but that is incorrect,” the judge told him.

Lord Pentland told Hawkins that he would be on the sex offenders’ register for life and deferred sentence on him.