A former prisoner has told how he was sexually abused by a pervert guard in one of Scotland’s toughest jails.
Andrew McLeod has waived his anonymity in the hope of warning other potential victims about vile Brian Johnstone.
The 41-year-old was on remand at Glasgow’s Barlinnie jail – for a charge he was later fully acquitted of – when he was repeatedly attacked by Johnstone, 67.
Andrew said he felt unable to complain because prison bosses were covering up for his attacker.
He told the Sunday Mail: “I’ve wanted to speak out from day dot but it was humiliating and degrading.
“There is no way they’d let you prove a sexual predator is working in the Scottish Prison Service.
“So I kept my mouth shut. How did the other guards not know what he was doing?
“He wasn’t openly gay but they all knew as he’d go into the showers when boys were in there.
“The governor and colleagues all knew what he was doing to me but later claimed they thought it was just a rumour.”
His 11 month ordeal started almost immediately when Andrew was given the role of passman – a job allowing him to leave his cell to do tasks like cleaning.
He said: “From the moment I was in, he targeted me because I was gay. Any jobs he needed done, he’d always ask me and it would be with him.
“The first time he ever touched me was a Sunday morning.
“I said, ‘Brian, you should be helping me but you are making me feel depressed and suicidal’. He said he loved me but I told him he didn’t even know me.
“From then, I was scared to close my eyes in the showers in case he crept in. Once, I was going for a shower. He came in and said, ‘Am I washing or drying?’.”
Johnstone attempted to perform a sex act on terrified Andrew, of Glasgow’s east end, in a fire exit area not covered by CCTV.
He said: “I shouted at him to stop it and slapped him about the head. Another time, after serving dinner, I was playing cards with the boys.
“I was called into the office by a guard who told me Brian wanted me upstairs. There was a lot of sniggering.
“They said he wanted me to help with some tellies in the exercise room which had no cameras.
“I went in and he ended up giving me three TVs to hold. I was wearing joggies, which he pulled down.
“I threw the TVs at him and got out of there.”
The sickening abuse also took place in Andrew’s cell where he was awaiting trial for a culpable homicide charge which a court later cleared him of.
He said: “He’d wake me up most days. I’d open my eyes and his face would be right in front of mine. He’d say it was a death check and he was checking I was breathing.
“Every day he touched me, usually between my legs.
“In the pantry he’d make a point of touching me when other people were there but weren’t looking.
“He also paid me double the wages than any other passman.”
Johnstone – who denied the charges – was sentenced to three years in jail in 2018 for abusing his position to prey on Andrew and another inmate.
Sheriff Joseph Platt put him on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and told him: “You betrayed the trust of the prison service and your fellow employees.”
But Johnstone only served half of his sentence before being released in 2019.
After Andrew was freed in September 2017, he confided in his dad then reported Johnstone.
He’s has been left with mental scars following his ordeal and has even forgiven Johnstone in an effort to recover.
He said: “He’s never shown any remorse. It’s left me messed up. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSD and am still seeing a psychiatrist. I’ve been on antipsychotics, antidepressants and diazepam for eight years.”
The Scottish Prison Service paid Andrew £11,000 in compensation.
He said: “The public needs to know what went on and hopefully others come forward.
“I want to go into prisons and tell people they can talk to me. I’ll listen and help them but never repeat their business.”
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on an individual case. We expect the highest standards of conduct from our staff and incidents of alleged criminality are reported to Police Scotland.”
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