A FORMER SNP councillor has been jailed for six years for sex attacks against a number of children.
Mark Kerr, who represented Kilsyth in North Lanarkshire, was found guilty of nine charges involving teenage boys carried out between May 2012 and May 2020.
He has also been placed on the sex offenders register after a trial at the High Court in Paisley.
Kerr (above) was found guilty on November 4 and was sentenced on Friday.
Police Scotland welcomed his sentencing, saying the ex-politician “betrayed” the trust of his young victims.
READ MORE: Labour win West Lothian by-election beating SNP by a few hundred votes
Detective Inspector Colin Moffat, of Police Scotland’s National Child Abuse Investigation Unit, said: “Kerr was in a position of responsibility and trust as a local politician but he prayed on teenagers, one of whom he met at an official function. He befriended them and betrayed them.
“I welcome his conviction and placement on the Sexual Offenders Register.
"Our thoughts are very much with his victims and their bravery in coming forward is commended. I hope they now get some closure with his sentencing.
“Tackling sexual crime is a top priority for Police Scotland and we will work to remove offenders like Kerr from our communities.
“I would urge anyone who has or is the subject of any form of abuse to get in touch with us. We have specialist officers who can assist, no matter when something happened.
“You can call us on 101 or make a call to the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel