Rapist bus driver Gavin Bowie jailed for 13 years

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-32997664

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A bus driver who was convicted of raping and sexually abusing young boys has been jailed for 13 years.

Gavin Bowie, 64, targeted vulnerable children who boarded buses he was driving in Glasgow and Cumbernauld.

He was found guilty of 15 sex offences against 11 boys, aged 12 to 16, dating back more than 20 years.

The High Court in Livingston heard he was caught after a victim recognised him after boarding a bus he was driving in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

Jailing Bowie, judge Lady Wolffe told him: "The boys you preyed on were all impressionable young boys in their early teens.

"You were a calculating and predatory individual, preying on the young and vulnerable for your own sexual gratification."

Alcohol and sweets

Lady Wolffe said it was "extremely concerning" that the background report on Bowie recorded him as having neither remorse for his crimes nor insight into his actions and their consequences for others.

The judge also ordered that Bowie's name should remain on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

The court heard that Bowie picked out his victims from boys who boarded the buses he drove throughout the west of Scotland.

He allowed them to travel free then lured them to his home in Cumbernauld with promises of cannabis, alcohol and sweets.

Bowie also threatened some of the boys, saying he would hurt them or their family if they did not comply with his demands.

He was brought to justice after a passenger who boarded a bus he was driving in Halifax recognised him as his childhood abuser.

The court was told that it had been a complete coincidence that both Bowie and his victim, who was then aged 36, had moved to the English town from Scotland.

When the man reported Bowie to the police in 2013, it emerged that another victim had come forward 13 months before.

The chance encounter also led detectives to other victims who had used bus routes Bowie had worked on in Glasgow, Cumbernauld, and elsewhere in Scotland more than 20 years ago.