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Child sex offender goes missing Police arrest missing paedophile
(about 3 hours later)
Police are continuing to hunt for a convicted sex offender who went missing after failing to turn up for sentencing on Friday. A convicted sex offender who went missing after failing to turn up for sentencing on Friday has been arrested.
Morris Petch was found guilty of raping two young girls in the 1990s. Morris Petch, 50, was convicted on Thursday of raping two young sisters in Edinburgh in the 1990s.
Petch, 50, was convicted on Thursday of raping two sisters in Edinburgh but failed to appear on Friday. He was due to be sentenced, along with two others involved in the paedophile ring, but he failed to appear and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
He is described as 6ft tall, of a heavy build with a shaven head and walks with a limp as he has an artificial left leg from the knee down. Lothian and Borders Police said they had attended an address in Edinburgh and arrested Petch.
Background reports They thanked the public for their response to their appeal for information.
A police spokeswoman said a search of Petch's home at Oxgangs Farm Gardens, Edinburgh, had been carried out.
Petch was part of a paedophile ring operating in Edinburgh.Petch was part of a paedophile ring operating in Edinburgh.
Caroline Dunsmore, 43, and John O'Flaherty, 50, both pled guilty to sex abuse against one of the girls earlier.Caroline Dunsmore, 43, and John O'Flaherty, 50, both pled guilty to sex abuse against one of the girls earlier.
Lord Malcolm had been due to consider sentencing all three as soon as Petch's trial was finished but on Friday he called for background reports on Dunsmore and O'Flaherty.Lord Malcolm had been due to consider sentencing all three as soon as Petch's trial was finished but on Friday he called for background reports on Dunsmore and O'Flaherty.
But in spite of warning both that they faced almost certain jail sentences, the judge let them go on bail. They were both granted bail.
After Petch failed to show up by 1200 BST, Lord Malcolm issued a warrant for his arrest.
Advocate depute Iain McSporran, prosecuting, described how - from a very early age - a girl fell victim to the paedophile ring, along with her sister.
Being raped became "a way of life" he said, and the abuse was "extraordinary".
Offences took place at a caravan in Perthshire on a night in 1990 and for several years before at a house in Edinburgh.
The court heard the older girl was abused from the age of six.