Malcolmson has sentence reduced
A teacher who was sent to prison for engaging in sex acts with two schoolgirls has succeeded in having his sentence cut – but only by three months.
Kieran Malcolmson, 36, was given a 15 month sentence earlier this year following a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.
Jurors convicted him of being in a position of trust as a schoolteacher when he kissed and engaged in sexual activity with a girl while he was employed as a teacher at a school in Shetland.
Malcolmson was also found guilty of a similar offence of engaging in sexual activity with or directed towards another pupil at a school in 2018.
He kissed the girl on the mouth and repeatedly asked her to accompany him to a “dark and secluded area”.
Lawyers for Malcolmson believed that the sentence imposed on their client was excessive.
Lawyer Ann Ogg told judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh last week that Malcolmson should have received a non-custodial sentence.
However, in a ruling issued on Tuesday, judges Lord Pentland and Lord Doherty concluded that Sheriff Philip Mann was correct to send Malcolmson to prison.
However, the judges also ruled that the sentence given to him Malcolmson was excessive when compared to people who had been convicted of similar offences.
Giving judgement, Lord Pentland said that Malcolmson would now serve 12 months for the crimes.
