Jail for man who attacked falsely-accused pensioner

A MAN who attacked a pensioner and left him “barely alive” after being told, wrongly, that he was a sex offender has been jailed for nine years.

Garry Munro, 31, jumped up and down on James Robson’s head and body and caused catastrophic injuries, a court heard.

His stepson, Reece Kray, 17, also took part in the assault, and he was sentenced to four years’ detention.

Mr Robson, 66, was beaten mercilessly in his home in Buckie, Moray, on 10 July last year, and Munro and Kray were convicted after a trial of attempting to murder him.

The judge, Lady Scott, said at the High Court in Edinburgh that Mr Robson’s condition could be described as barely alive.

“He is unable to speak or communicate, and remains completely bed-bound...(it was) a quite vicious attempted murder,” she added.

The trial heard that the family had moved into a flat above Mr Robson’s home shortly before the incident. They regarded him as “creepy” and accused him of looking down Kray’s mother’s top. They were informed that he was on the sex offenders’ register for watching pornography around children.

In fact, Mr Robson had no sexual convictions and was not on the register, but Munro and Kray went in an alcohol-fuelled rage to his flat to confront him. After the attack, Kray wrote “paedo” in spray paint on Mr Robson’s door.

Lady Scott said Munro, who was addicted to drugs and drink, was clearly the instigator and the main assailant, and he had been assessed as a high risk of reoffending. She orderd that he be closely monitored for five years at the end of his prison sentence.

The judge told Kray she felt able to restrict his sentence. She said he had been only 16 and a child at the time of the attack, and had a chaotic upbringing. He had no history of violence and there remained a real chance of rehabilitation and a positive future for him.