In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Douglas Ewen, 59, was handed a life sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh for a prolific and predatory campaign of sexual violence spanning more than 40 years. Ewen was found guilty of 18 separate offences involving 10 victims, including the rape and abuse of both women and children across Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland, Aberdeenshire.
The court heard that the paedophile began his criminal career as a teenager in 1974, initially with physical assaults in the Balnagask area of Aberdeen. By 1976, his conduct escalated to sexual offences when he targeted a five-year-old girl, molesting her over several years before eventually raping her. His catalogue of crimes over the subsequent four decades included child rape, the rape of adult women, physical assault, and threatening behaviour. Despite the overwhelming evidence presented by his victims, Ewen maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
Lord Kinclaven, presiding over the case, stated there was “no alternative to a custodial sentence” given Ewen’s long-standing history of predatory violence. The judge imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR), which is a form of life sentence used in Scotland for high-risk offenders. He set the punishment part of the sentence at five and a half years, but emphasised that this is only the minimum time Ewen must spend in prison before he can even be considered for parole.
Under the OLR, Douglas Ewen will only be released if the Parole Board for Scotland determines that he no longer poses a risk to public safety. If he is ever released, he will be subject to supervision and monitoring by the authorities for the rest of his life. The judge warned that if he is deemed a continuing danger, he will spend the remainder of his life in prison.
As a result of his convictions for rape and child abuse, Ewen has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He is managed under the highest tier of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in Aberdeenshire. This ensures that Police Scotland and social work services will maintain permanent, intensive surveillance of Ewen should he ever return to the community.
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