A SEX OFFENDER who preyed on teenage girls has been described an “unmanageable” risk to the public, a court has heard.

James Foxton was also labelled as coercive and manipulative in a background report prepared ahead of his sentencing at Stirling Sheriff Court today (Thursday, December 12).

The Sauchie man was previously convicted of four sex offences by a jury after a week-long trial last month.

Throughout the trial the court heard evidence from the two women he abused – both of whom are now in their twenties.

The first complainer broke down when she described how he behaved indecently towards her around a dozen times between December 1, 2009 and June 9, 2010 – when she was just 14.

She spoke of one instance where Foxton, 47, grabbed her breasts over her clothes, then “laughed” as she reacted with shock.

On another occasion, he smirked at her after groping her underneath her clothes.

And his behaviour escalated to the point where he even “grabbed” her hand late one night and forced her to perform a sex act on him.

When asked by the prosecutor if she had ever told him to stop, the woman said: "There was one incident, but because I told him 'no' he hit me. So ever since then I was afraid to say no."

Her horrific ordeal eventually came to an end in June 2010 when she broke her silence and reported Foxton to police.

Officers interviewed him about the allegations soon after, and a recording of the interview was played to jurors.

When told of the girl’s claims, Foxton said: “It makes my stomach churn.

“I’ve got morals. I can guarantee you these things are not happening.”

Police eventually let him go without charging him, because they were unable to corroborate the allegations.

It was only after he abused another girl during a four-year period between February 18, 2013 and March 31, 2017, that he was snared.

Those incidents started when the youngster was 16, and included occasions where Foxton repeatedly sexually assaulted her, forced her to participate in sexual activity without her consent, and sent her a sexual image.

When asked by the prosecutor how often she was abused, the woman said: "Sometimes it would be twice a week; sometimes it would be months and months apart."

She also described occasions where Foxton would force her to touch his genitals and said there were times when he'd touch her breasts and say he's “checking for breast cancer”.

Despite maintaining he was innocent throughout the trial, jurors convicted Foxton of all four charges by majority on November 15.

Sheriff Wylie Robertson then remanded him in custody and deferred sentencing until December so a social work report could be prepared.

When he was hauled into the dock to find out his fate, Foxton initially appeared to shake and whimper.

Defence agent Alexander Flett said his client had been described in the social work report as “clearly skilled at coercion and manipulation”.

The report also said Foxton presented an “unmanageable” risk to the public.

This was challenged by Mr Flett, who said: “He is not someone who has otherwise caused concern to society.”

But Sheriff Robertson disagreed, and imprisoned Foxton, formerly of Beechwood in Sauchie, for two years – with a three-year extension upon his release.

His name was also added to the sex offenders' register indefinitely.

After the sentence was passed, detective inspector Yvonne O'Rourke, of Forth Valley's Rape Investigation Unit, said: "Both victims showed extreme courage to come forward and report this to us.

"The statement provided from the second complainer in October 2018 allowed us to go back to a previous case and link the two with corroborating evidence that ultimately resulted in Foxton being convicted.

"Foxton preyed on both these young girls, he tried to build their trust and he was devious in the way that he groomed them in order to commit sexual offences. I wish to thank both women for their continued support of the police investigation.

"We are committed to bringing all perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice and time is no barrier for our inquiries.

"We would urge anyone who wishes to report sexual crime, regardless of when it occurred, to contact us on 101 so we can conduct a thorough investigation."