Prison bosses forced to pay damages to jailed paedophile over tootache - The Daily Record
Happiness wasn't a warm....
Prison bosses forced to pay damages to jailed paedophile over tootache
Dec 13 2009 Charlie Gall, Sunday Mail
A SEX beast has won a cash payout from prison bosses who couldn't find a dentist to treat his toothache.
Paedophile Neil Robertson launched the compensation claim from his cell in Peterhead Prison, it emerged yesterday.
He blamed prison chiefs for failing to find an NHS dentist to treat his toothache and sued the Scottish Prison Service over a delay in treatment.
He has now received an out-of-court settlement.
Robertson, 44, from Ayrshire, was jailed for life in 2003 for abusing a seven-year-old girl.
He met the girl's mother through an internet chat room and wormed his way into her affections by pretending he had been a pilot, a businessman and qualified psychologist.
He quickly turned his attention to the youngster and within weeks he was taking photographs of himself abusing the girl.
Robertson was described by the judge at his trial in Dunfermline, as a "dangerous psychopath" with a 20-year interest in young girls.
The payout has been agreed at a time when Aberdeenshire has one of the longest UK waiting lists of people seeking an NHS dentist.
Furious Lesley Wood, 22, a nursery assistant from Aberdeen, has been without an NHS dentist for six years.
She condemned the payout, saying: "It's totally out of order. People are paying for emergency treatment and he's getting our money. All his teeth should be ripped out after what he did."
Shadow justice spokesman and north-east Labour MSP Richard Baker described the settlement as "extraordinary".
He said: "This is public money and people rightly find compensation payments to prisoners offensive. It is a sad irony that many people have problems getting access to dental treatment but now this prisoner has sought compensation for dental pain.
"Prison authorities need to take every step they can to stop prisoners being able to sue for compensation. The Scottish Government should also take further action."
Kincardine and West Aberdeenshire MSP Mike Rumbles said the public would be outraged at seeing a sex offender compensated.
He said: "The dental crisis in the north-east is the worst in the country. It affects everyone and I'm not surprised the prison service failed to find access to an NHS dentist."
A prisons spokesman refused to disclose how much was paid but did say: "I can confirm that a prisoner in HMP Peterhead has been given an out-of-court settlement for a failure by SPS to provide appropriate dental treatment."