A paedophile who abducted an 11-year-old girl as she walked home and sexually abused her for more than 27 hours as police scoured the area hunting for her, has been told he can appeal against his jail term of 20 years.
Andrew Miller who was dressed as a woman at the time he offered the child, who he had never seen before, a lift in February. Miller, who also uses the name Amy George, took the girl back to his house and subjected her to repeated attacks, which a judge described as “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
The girl only escaped when Miller, who had made them share a bed, fell asleep and the child dialled 999 after finding a landline. She told officers she had been touched inappropriately, the court heard. Miller, who had run a butcher’s shop, claimed he offered the girl a lift “because she was freezing”, and claimed forcing her to sleep in the bed with him “was a motherly thing”.
At the High Court in Edinburgh last month, Miller was handed a 28-year extended sentence, comprising 20 years behind bars and a further eight spent on licence under supervision in the community. At the same court in May, Miller had pleaded guilty to charges of abduction, sexual assault, watching pornography in the presence of the child under the age of 13, and possessing 242 indecent images of children.
The Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh confirmed on Friday that Miller has been granted leave to appeal against the sentence. The appeal hearing will take place on December 5.
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Miller at a hearing in February being led from the court (PA)The court heard Miller was transitioning into a woman, and at his first appearance at Selkirk Sheriff Court, his fingernails were painted red. At an earlier hearing Judge Lord Arthurson described Miller’s offences as “abhorrent crimes” of the utmost “deviance and depravity” which were “the realisation of every parent’s worst nightmare”.
Sentencing Miller, Lord Arthurson said: “The narrative was frankly nauseating in terms of its depravity and criminal sexual deviancy. On your arrest you denied the abduction and preposterously said you had acted in a motherly way. Abduction of young children for the purposes of sexual torment is a mercifully rare crime in this jurisdiction.”
Lord Arthurson told Miller his “primary focus” throughout was himself and, while he showed an understanding of the impact his crimes had on the wider public, it was “limited” in terms of the victim. During interviews with a risk assessor, Miller “even attempted to place responsibility on (his victim)”, the judge said.
Miller has been held in the male prison estate following a row over the jailing of transgender rapist Isla Bryson who was sent to a female prison in February. Bryson was later moved to the male estate.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.
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