Shock as notorious John Anderson returns to Scottish streets

Rape quiz criminal who was hounded out of the country is back after 10-year exile.

A criminal who fled Scotland amid fears for his life is back on the streets, The Sunday Post can reveal.

John Anderson has returned to the country following a 10-year exile. The 62-year-old was hounded out after a High Court rape case against him collapsed.

Anderson sparked controversy after personally subjecting a 13-year-old alleged victim to a lengthy cross-examination.

After the trial ended, the Scottish Government changed the law to prevent suspects from grilling victims in court.

Anderson quit Scotland, vowing never to return, after three attempts were made on his life.

However, we can reveal he is now living in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, where he was born and raised.

The father-of-five who once served seven years for attempted murder could not be reached for a comment.

But, speaking previously, he revealed he’s desperate to “convince people” he’s not “evil”. He said: “The people of Scotland won’t forget the court cases. Mud sticks and all the hysteria was totally uncalled for.

“It’s left me a wreck.

“I’ve been ruined by bad press and I have nothing to live for. I live day-to-day with drink and anti-depressants.

“The uneducated masses still think I’m guilty and won’t accept me back into the community.”

In total, Anderson beat five rape charges in the space of 15 months after grilling his alleged victims while defending himself in court.

However, it was the June 2000 court hearing to examine claims he raped a 13-year-old girl and her mum that turned him into a public hate figure.

There was outcry after he subjected the teenager to a harrowing courtroom interrogation for nearly three hours.

Anderson, then 48, walked free from the High Court in Perth after the four-day trial found him not guilty of raping the girl and not proven on the charge relating to the mother.

In 2002, the Scottish Government introduced new legislation to give extra protection to victims of rape and other sex attacks as a consequence of Anderson’s self-defence.

The new measures meant an accused person has to be legally represented throughout the whole trial and prevents victims before forced to suffer unjustifiable forms of questioning.

Before the government made its landmark decision, Anderson was brutally attacked in Linwood, Renfrewshire. Charles “Chick” Glen was found guilty of smashing Anderson over the head with a brick, and jailed for seven years.

In 1999, he also had a narrow escape when a man fired at least five shots at him with a handgun. Anderson was left bleeding and unconscious outside his home. The shooting was believed to be part of a turf war.

Even now the controversy surrounding Anderson still provokes strong feelings in the local community.

Last night, his first wife Eve McDougall, 57, said she’s “amazed” he’s returned to the community where he caused such a huge scandal.

“The local community need to know he’s back walking their streets again,” she said. “It’s important his face is back in the paper.”

One local police source said he was surprised to hear Anderson had returned.

The detective inspector who did not wish to be named said: “After the case at the High Court in Perth, there was very strong local feeling against him. He was in exile so I’m surprised he’s come back.”

Controversial history of hard man

John Anderson was born and raised in Barrhead. A hardman in his youth, his brutal behaviour eventually led to him being convicted for attempted murder and police assault.

In 1976, he shot a young man called James Docherty in revenge after Docherty beat up one of his pals. While he was in jail, his then wife Eve McDougall took her chance to divorce him.

Eve had met Anderson when she was just 16 but later said he turned nasty, allegedly beating her and raping her repeatedly.

In 1999, Anderson appeared in court charged with raping Eve and their teenage daughter. The youngster claimed he had plied her with drugs, repeatedly raped her and forced her to perform other sex acts. When she found out she was pregnant, she had an abortion and fled to London. At Anderson’s trial, he insisted on representing himself and tackled Eve, cross-examining her, forcing her to go over what she claimed he’d done.

The case collapsed before Jackson was called to give evidence.

Anderson questioned alleged victim, 13

Anderson’s cross-examination of a 13-year-old girl who accused him of raping her caused huge controversy in Scotland.

The girl, who was said to have been found naked in his bed, alleged Anderson had sexually assaulted her. Her mother made similar claims.

After sacking four legal teams, Anderson represented himself, allowing him to cross-examine his alleged victims face-to-face. The girl pleaded with officials moments before she went into court to be allowed to give evidence from behind a screen or through a camera link-up. But she was told she’d have to face her alleged attacker in court if she wanted the trial to proceed.

Anderson quizzed the 13-year-old for more than three hours. At one point he asked the girl, who attempted suicide before appearing in court, why she was nervous. She replied: “I’m scared in case you get out.”

The jury found him not guilty of raping the mother and not proven of raping the girl. He walked free.

The Anderson trials resulted in the law being changed to prevent rape suspects quizzing their alleged victims in court. The Sexual Offences (Procedures and Evidence) (Scotland) Act made sure an accused must be legally represented throughout the trial. Scotland’s then Justice Minister Jim Wallace said the change would remove the fear factor that deterred many victims of sex offences from coming forward.