A FORMER headmaster was facing a lengthy jail sentence yesterday after subjecting a girl to a horrific catalogue of sexual abuse and rape for a decade.
Arthur Hutchinson began molesting the victim when she was aged eight in Thailand and continued to control and exploit her when she moved to Scotland to pursue higher education studies.
During some of the abuse, he filmed and photographed the girl and put a cloth soaked in lighter fuel on her face, leaving her apparently unconscious.
Hutchinson, 74, exiled the under-age girl to relatives in a rural part of her Asian homeland when she told him she did not want to have sex as an under-age child.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that he was “very controlling” of the victim and, although he arranged for her to go to a private school in Thailand, he restricted her friends and her activities outside of school.
Advocate depute Richard Goddard, QC, told the court: “As the complainer’s family were poor and lived in relative poverty she felt a responsibility to obtain an education to provide for herself and her family in the future.”
Hutchinson, who moved to Thailand in 2010, suggested the teenager should continue her education in the UK and she secured a higher education place last year.
He made her agree to a set of rules that including her not wearing make-up and not posting on social media.
Hutchinson rented a flat in Aberdeen and continued to have sex with the girl.
Mr Goddard said: “She did not resist the accused’s advances because she was afraid he would withdraw financial support from her family and stop her education.”
But, after an argument, she went to see a counsellor in the city and revealed she had been sexually abused by Hutchinson since she was eight years old.
The prosecutor said: “She was crying uncontrollably and stated that she did not want to do it any more but the accused had threatened to withdraw financial assistance from her family if she did not comply.”
Police were contacted and Hutchinson was arrested and a laptop and other equipment was seized from the flat he was renting.
Cybercrime experts recovered more than 1,700 indecent photographs of the victim and a further 198 videos, 129 of which showed him having sex with her.
He said there were also still pictures in which the victim appeared to be unconscious and added: “The complainer was unaware of the photos being taken or videos being recorded.”
The advocate depute said that, during an interview with police, Hutchinson admitted all the sexual conduct towards the girl but suggested that she was a willing participant.
Hutchinson admitted five charges when he appeared at court via a video link to prison yesterday.
Mr Goddard said Hutchinson was a school teacher for more than 40 years and latterly was employed as the headmaster of a secondary school in West Yorkshire, before retiring in 2008.
Defence counsel Graham Robertson told the court: “It is plainly a most serious matter.”
The judge, Lord Fairley, deferred sentence on Hutchinson for the preparation of a background report, including a risk assessment. He was remanded in custody and placed on the sex offenders register
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