A creep who was jailed for offering a schoolgirl cash in exchange for sexual favours is to appeal against his conviction.
Andrew Cunningham, 36, was this week sentenced to 20 months in prison at Hamilton Sheriff Court and placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years after being found guilty of communicating indecently with a child and offering cash for sexual services.
Today, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) told Lanarkshire Live it had an appeal registered against Cunningham’s conviction.
Jurors were told that Cunningham, of East Kilbride, bombarded the schoolgirl with texts and suggested booking a hotel room for them.
Rebecca Clark, prosecuting, said his lewd messages showed he was “asking her to prostitute herself for £100 a week”.
Sheriff Louise Gallacher described his behaviour as “highly disturbing” and referred to a statement by the girl’s mother that it has had a “devastating” impact on her child whose life quickly spiralled out of control which saw her self-harm daily and turn to drugs and alcohol to cope.
Speaking out after the sentencing on Monday, the victim’s mother slammed the sex predator for “stealing” her daughter’s “innocence”, adding that her bravery in speaking out led to her abuser’s conviction.
She said: “We are relieved that justice has been served although it won’t change the damage done to my daughter. Hopefully now she can slowly start to move on with her life and regain any chance of childhood while she has time.
“We are so relieved that he got custodial. I am so proud of my daughter for giving evidence. She has been the main part of him getting a conviction.”
Addressing Cunningham in her daughter’s victim impact statement, she said: “You have stolen her innocence, her childhood, her understanding of trust, her could have been most memorable years, and quite possibly her future.”
Cunningham denied sending the lewd messages. He claimed he’d left behind his phone in a pub and didn’t get it back for several days.
The court heard he met the girl by chance. Over the next few days she received 196 texts and 13 phone calls.
Cunningham offered to provide the girl with alcohol and said he was keen to sleep with her.
Messages included ‘You help me and I’ll help you’ and ‘No one has to know. I’ll give you a lot of money if you come up to my gaff once a week’.
Giving evidence, Cunningham rejected the prosecutor’s claim that he had been “grooming the girl for sex”.
He insisted he hadn’t sent any of the messages, but Ms Clark said he’d been recognised on a Facetime call.
Defence lawyer Ian Scott said Cunningham has had issues with drugs and alcohol. His previous convictions involve violence and disorder but the offending he has now been found guilty of is “out of character”.
But Sheriff Louise Gallacher said she was “very concerned” by a criminal justice social work report suggestion that Cunningham was “victim blaming”.
She told him: “I would have considered a non-custodial sentence had you accepted your behaviour and consented to engage with the rehabilitation work necessary to ensure you don’t re-offend.
“You say you won’t engage and without intervention that risk remains. Given your attitude, there is no option other than custody available to me.”
During the appeals process a senior judge or appeal sheriff decides whether or not to grant permission for an appeal to proceed – this is called the sift process.
A single judge or appeal sheriff will consider whether there are ‘arguable grounds’ for an appeal to proceed based on legal matters and evidence.
Where permission to appeal is refused at the first sift, an appeal can be made against that refusal to a second sift. This will be considered by two or three judges/sheriffs, depending on the type of appeal.
If permission is granted, a hearing is fixed to determine the points of law to be considered in the appeal. If an appeal is allowed against conviction, the appeal judges can confirm or quash (reject) the verdict. In some cases, they can order the trial to be heard again.
If an appeal is allowed against a sentence, the appeal judges can confirm or change the sentence and if an accused loses an appeal and believes there has been a ‘miscarriage of justice’, they can apply for a reference from the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) confirmed today: “We have an appeal against conviction registered for Andrew Cunningham.”
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