A man who was convicted of being part of a child abuse ring told a risk assessor he had never watched pornography, a court heard.
Iain Owens, 46, was convicted of being part of a paedophile ring which abused three children, following a trial in 2023 which heard allegations of Satanic rituals and dog-killing in a drugs den where heroin and cocaine were used.
He will be sentenced for 18 charges for crimes including gang rape and attempted murder, along with six co-accused later this month at the High Court in Glasgow.
The Satanic ritual charges were dropped by the prosecution and a jury cleared all of the accused of the dog-killing charge.
Owens challenged a risk assessment which deemed him “high risk”, and insisted he had never looked at “top shelf magazines”, the same court heard on Monday at an evidential hearing on the risk assessment reports.
Risk assessor Professor David Cooke said Owens “suffers from sexual sadism disorder”, “paedophilic disorder”, and that “virtually all risk factors for future sexual violence are present”, the court heard.
Owens was interviewed on three occasions in 2024 and admitted involvement in drug dealing, the court heard.
Professor Cooke said: “Mr Owens failed to co-operate with my evaluation. In three interviews he was superficial and evasive.
“He suffers from paedophilic disorder and sexual sadism disorder. He has developed psychopathic personality disorder.
“At interview he projected blame on others. It is my opinion that any attempt to treat Owens will be difficult.
“I would remain pessimistic regarding positive outcomes. When returned to community, Mr Owens should be subject to intensive monitoring and surveillance.
“In summary, given Mr Owen’s history, the nature of his risk factors for sexual violence, if he was at liberty I consider he would be high risk to members of the public at large.”
The court heard that the assessment was carried out according to the Risk of Sexual Violence Protocol (RSVP).
Professor Cooke added: “To me there was (the) likely scenario, if he were to return to (the) community, that he would attempt to contact vulnerable young children and attempt to abuse them either by coercion or force.”
Cross examining, defence advocate Gary Allan KC, said Owens’ mobile phone showed communication regarding drug supply but that he denied having sexual fantasies or accessing pornography.
Mr Allan said Owens grew up in a family which was “reasonably well off” before his parents split, and had provided details for his father, who did not respond to the risk assessor.
Defending, Mr Allan said: “After he says to you, ‘I didn’t do it’ and said things about who might be responsible for the position he is in, what further discussion are you expecting?”
Professor Cooke said: “Commonly in a situation like this post-conviction, people realise they have been convicted, people begin to open up. It is not uncommon for people to realise it is beneficial to open up to get some access to treatment.
“He has been found guilty of 18 convictions, he said he hasn’t done them, so that is denial. One of the things which is important to know is what is the sexual fantasies driving the behaviour you’ve had in the past. This comes out very gradually. That’s what you’d be looking for.”
Mr Allan said: “He didn’t tell you what his sexual fantasies were. He told you he didn’t have any.”
Professor Cooke said: “I think it’s improbable.”
Mr Allan said: “You asked him about his viewing of pornography and he said he didn’t do it. You asked him about top-shelf magazines and he said he hadn’t done that. In your report you described that as improbable.”
He added: “Nothing relating to children or sexual activity with children was found on that phone. Activity did show that there was interaction with drug customers, but nothing to do with children or sexual activity with children.”
Professor Cooke said: “The psychopathy is one of the most important risk factors we know from research literature.”
The hearing continues in front of Judge Lord Beckett.