Elderly Fife man jailed for nine years after conviction for continued sexual abuse of children

Canning was jailed for a continued string of sexual abuses against two female children, which occurred between 2010 and 2017.

These incidents began before the victims were teenagers, and continued until they were both young adults.

The assaults occurred at various locations in Perth and within the Levenmouth area of Fife.

Canning was sentenced at the High Court in Stirling on Tuesday, December 7, and had previously been found guilty at the High Court in Livingston in late October.

The Fife Division Public Protection Unit launched an investigation into Canning in April 2019. Soon after – in May 2019 – he was arrested and charged.

Detective Constable Alastair Gibson said: “Harry Canning subjected two vulnerable females to horrendous sexual abuse over a number of years. Canning is a predator who has refused to admit his guilt and shown no remorse for his actions.

“I would like to commend the victims for their courage throughout this investigation and trial. They finally have justice and I hope that this will help them moving forward”.

Police Scotland have said that they treat all reports of sexual crimes “with the utmost seriousness”, and have noted that they have detectives dedicated to investigating these offences.

They have said that anyone with information on sexual crime can contact Police Scotland on 101 or report this anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Rape Crisis Scotland helpline: 08088 01 03 02

Scottish Women’s Aid helpline: 0800 027 1234

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.