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A man previously convicted of child sexual abuse, who later changed his name and took on the role of president of the Robert Burns World Federation, has been sentenced to five years in prison after additional victims came forward with allegations of historical abuse. Marc Sherland, aged 70, was found guilty in May of indecently assaulting three teenage boys between 1988 and 1990 at his home in Paisley.
Sherland’s criminal history dates back to 1991 when he was first convicted of abusing two young boys, aged eight and ten, during his tenure as a council youth worker in Paisley. After this initial conviction, he altered his identity to conceal his criminal past before assuming a position as a cultural ambassador promoting the poetry of Robert Burns and the Scots language. Despite this public role, his offenses continued to have a profoundly negative impact on his victims.
During sentencing at Paisley Sheriff Court, Sheriff Gillian Craig ordered Sherland to serve five years in prison, followed by three years under supervision upon his release. Additionally, she imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning Sherland from any contact with children for 20 years. The sheriff emphasized that Sherland had deliberately sought employment involving children and had groomed them prior to committing his “appalling” offenses. She described his pattern of behavior as demonstrating “evil intent” and a clear history of predatory conduct. The lifelong harm endured by the victims was described as “devastating.” Sherland claimed he no longer had “deviant sexual interests in male children,” but he failed to provide any evidence supporting this assertion. According to a social work report referenced by the sheriff, he exhibited little remorse or insight into his actions.
One of the men who testified against Sherland during the trial, referred to as Peter to protect his identity, was 16 years old when he encountered Sherland through a school and community center in Renfrewshire. At the time, Sherland was using the name Douglas Stuart Hammond while working as an education community worker for Strathclyde Regional Council. Peter, now 52, recounted that he was assaulted in 1990 at Sherland’s home in Paisley. After remaining silent for 35 years, Peter chose to report the abuse following conversations with a mental health professional who suggested the assault might be linked to longstanding personal issues he had faced. Peter said, “I’ll be honest with you, it’s really hard to explain for me because I’m really just getting a grip of it myself.” His counselor had encouraged him to come forward, which he eventually did despite initially not knowing Sherland was still alive.
Peter expressed a desire to encourage other victims to speak out, believing there were more boys abused by Sherland when he was known as Hammond. He described Sherland as “a deceitful man” who “used his intelligence to plot a path for himself.” Reflecting on his decision to report the abuse, Peter said, “I feel relieved that I’ve done it, that I reported it and went through the full process. It’s caused me grief, but it’s also lifted a good bit off my shoulders.
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