Paedophile who abducted schoolgirl while dressed as a woman jailed for 20 years
18 October 2023, 18:48
A paedophile who abducted a young girl as she walked home and sexually abused her for 27 hours has been jailed for 20 years.
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Andrew Miller, 53, was dressed as a woman when he offered the primary school-aged child - whom he had never seen before - a lift in February, in the Scottish Borders.
Miller, a butcher, who also uses the name Amy George, took the girl back to his house and subjected her to repeated attacks, which a judge described as "every parent's worst nightmare".
At the High Court in Edinburgh in May, Miller pleaded guilty to charges of abduction, sexual assault, watching pornography in the presence of the child under the age of 13 and possessing 242 indecent images of children.
Sentencing Miller, Judge Lord Arthurson said: "The narrative was frankly nauseating in terms of its depravity and criminal sexual deviancy.
"On your arrest you denied the abduction and preposterously said you had acted in a motherly way.
"Abduction of young children for the purposes of sexual torment is a mercifully rare crime in this jurisdiction."
Lord Arthurson told Miller his "primary focus" throughout was himself and, while he showed an understanding of the impact his crimes had on the wider public, it was "limited" in terms of the victim.
During interviews with a risk assessor, Miller "even attempted to place responsibility on (his victim)", the judge said.
Lord Arthurson added: "You told the assessor you went into business mode, 'trying to think of a plan'."
The judge said Miller alluded to the victim being "sexually active" when he was interviewed by police following his arrest.
Lord Arthurson described Miller's crimes as "brazen and chilling" and "uniquely appalling".
The court was told Miller is transitioning into a woman.
Miller has been held in the male prison estate following a row over the jailing of transgender rapist Isla Bryson who was sent to a female prison in February.
Earlier, the judge described Miller's offences as "abhorrent crimes" of the utmost "deviance and depravity" which were "the realisation of every parent's worst nightmare".
The child was locked in Miller's home for 27 hours, during which time she was repeatedly touched, and also forced to watch pornography.
She dialled 999 while Miller, who was wearing women's underwear, was asleep.
The girl found the landline phone and called police, saying she had been touched inappropriately, the court heard.
Miller, who had run a butcher's shop, claimed he offered the girl a lift "because she was freezing", and claimed forcing her to sleep in the bed with him "was a motherly thing".
After his arrest, three laptops were seized from his property and a total of 242 indecent images of children were found.
Miller was sentenced to a 28-year extended sentence, with 20 years to be spent behind bars and a further eight spent on licence under supervision in the community.
He was also placed on the sex offenders register.
After being sentenced, he was led down from the dock with his head bowed.
Defending Miller, Victoria Dow told the court he had gone through "significant periods" of his life without harming anyone.
She said he managed to keep his "impulses" under control by holding down a job and managing a successful business, but he had problems with low self-esteem.
His issues were triggered by the closure of his businesses, leading to increasing alcohol consumption and pornography usage.
Ms Dow said: "He (Miller) recognises and feels the horror of his conduct.
"He feels a deep sense of shame, but not only for himself, but those in his life who will feel the impact."
Detective Chief Inspector Bryan Burns said: "Our thoughts today are with the victim and her family who have shown incredible courage and strength throughout this ordeal.
"This was a significant investigation and I would like to thank all those involved for their professionalism and commitment during what was an extremely challenging inquiry.
"Andrew Miller has pled guilty to serious offending and will now face the consequences of his actions."
