Commonwealth Games gymnast spared jail for sex offences on schoolgirls

'This was a course of conduct persisting over a significant period of time with a number of young girls,' says sheriff

Ryan McKee represented Scotland in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi ( PA Wire/PA Archive/PA Images)

A former Commonwealth Games gymnast has been spared jail after he was convicted of sex offences against underage schoolgirls.

Ryan McKee, who represented Scotland in 2010, knew the girls were 14 when he kissed them and encouraged them to send him indecent images.

The 23-year-old was found guilty of three charges in August after a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court in the summer.

Between 2010 and 2015, while McKee was a coach at a gymnastic club, he kissed the two schoolgirls.

He exchanged naked photographs with one of them and asked the other if she wanted to see indecent images of him. He also asked her to send pictures to him.

Handing down the sentence, sheriff Tony Kelly said: "I observed striking similarities between the accounts given by each of the complainers. In my view this was a course of conduct persisting over a significant period of time with a number of young girls. That alone is disturbing enough."

McKee was found guilty of "engaging in sexual behaviour" and communicating indecently with a girl between April and August 2015.

He was also convicted of using lewd, indecent and libidinous practices and behaviour towards the other girl between March 2010 and March 2012.

McKee, from Glasgow, was given a community payback order with 250 hours unpaid work to be carried out within nine months.

He has also been banned from having contact with girls under 16 and must obey a curfew for the next eight months.

He will also be on the sex offenders register for three years.