Cameron Ross, a disgraced Police Scotland officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison last week for raping two women and carrying out a sustained campaign of domestic abuse against a third. The 39-year-old former constable committed the offences between 2012 and 2022 in Inverness and on the Isle of Lewis. He was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. Ross arrived at the High Court in Edinburgh wearing a navy suit, crisp white shirt and green tie, topped off with a black flat cap and dark sunglasses, carrying a brown leather backpack with AirPods in his ears.
Prosecutor Condemns Abuse of Trust
Faye Cook, Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offences at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “Cameron Ross carried out deliberate and repeated acts of abuse against women over the course of a decade. This was sustained offending, which caused significant harm. As a police officer, he was in a position of trust. Instead of upholding the law, he chose to break it in a serious and persistent way.” She urged other victims to come forward.
Christopher Ferguson: 14 Months for Heinous Abuse
Christopher Ferguson, 33, a former officer, was jailed for 14 months in May for a campaign of abuse against a woman he met online. He called her derogatory names, created a fake Tinder profile of her, and pinned her against a wall, leaving her sobbing. He later delivered a 19-page handwritten apology letter. Ferguson, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, admitted breaching domestic abuse laws and is held at HMP Dumfries. He will be supervised for six months after release.
Alan Sharp: Weapons Theft and Neglect
Alan Sharp, 52, a serving firearms officer, was jailed for two years in December for taking home six shotguns and other weapons surrendered for destruction. He pleaded guilty to three firearms charges and one of wilful neglect of duty. Sharp, a constable with the Firearms and Explosive Licensing Department in Kinross since 2001, took possession of the weapons in 2021. During a 2022 search, officers found the shotguns in working order in a secure cabinet at his home, along with rifle parts and 1,919 bullets of 17 calibres. A police spreadsheet falsely recorded the weapons as destroyed.
Steven Charletta: Data Breach and Fraud
Steven Charletta, 60, a former Police Scotland employee, was sentenced to two years in October last year for illegally accessing police records and sharing data. He was found guilty of data protection and fraud offences, as well as attempting to pervert the course of justice. Charletta accessed records without legitimate purpose and disclosed personal information. Two women were also arrested for extortion and data protection offences. He resigned from Police Scotland in September 2025.
Andrew Hyams: Fatal Car Crash
Andrew Hyams, 63, an ex-Merseyside Police officer, was jailed for two years for causing the death of his wife's aunt, Annie Sinclair, 88, and serious injury to van driver Carl Egerton by dangerous driving. The crash occurred as Hyams drove Sinclair to his home in Saltcoats for his remarriage the next day. Judge Lord Mulholland said Hyams crossed into oncoming traffic and made no attempt to avoid the collision. Egerton suffered a fractured sternum and was unable to work for six months.
Craig Glen: Sexual Assault of Colleagues
Craig Glen, 37, a married father of two, sexually assaulted two female colleagues while on duty in a police car in December 2016 and June 2021. He made sexualised comments, which he claimed was “banter.” Found guilty of two sexual assault charges and indecent communication, Sheriff Paul Reid put Glen under supervision and on the sex offenders register for a year. The sheriff noted his victims were “humiliated” by his “clearly deliberate” actions.
Kevin McFarlane: Assault During Arrest
Kevin McFarlane, 41, a police sergeant once rewarded for bravery, assaulted John Kerr during an arrest in Glasgow in June 2023. McFarlane dragged Kerr from a police van, causing his trousers to fall down, leaving him exposed and sobbing. McFarlane shouted, “You are acting like a f***ing idiot.” He was convicted of assault in August last year after colleagues testified against him. One PC said his demeanour changed “like the flick of a switch.”
Ryan Tierney: Sexual Assault at Work Events
Ryan Tierney, a former British Transport Police inspector, was banned from the force after sexually assaulting two female colleagues at Christmas parties in 2013 and 2016. At a Glasgow bar in 2016, he made crude remarks, invited a colleague to his hotel room, and touched her genitals over her clothing. The Independent Panel found the allegations proven. Tierney later cried and apologised to the victim.
