Background and Conviction
Cameron Ross was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh after being found guilty of raping two women and subjecting a third to prolonged violent abuse.
It has emerged that Ross, 39, was initially accused of sexual assault 12 years prior, but that case was dropped before it reached trial, allowing him to continue his police career for six years.
Earlier Allegation and Police Response
In 2014, Ross was suspended by Police Scotland following an allegation that he had raped a woman on the Isle of Lewis.
After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors decided to drop the case in 2016, reportedly the day before Ross was scheduled to appear before a jury.
Following this, an internal disciplinary process cleared Ross of wrongdoing, and he was reinstated to the police force.
The Press and Journal reported that the woman who made the original allegation expressed that she felt "denied justice" and stated she "would never get closure" due to how Police Scotland handled the investigation.
Subsequent Allegations and Trial
Ross was suspended again in June 2022 after another woman accused him of physical abuse.
Further investigation revealed additional allegations against Ross, including two women reporting that he raped them in Stornoway in 2012 and 2014.
One woman recounted that between August and October 2012, after meeting Ross at a party on Lewis, he pinned her to a bed and raped her, an experience she described as traumatising.
The second woman stated that in June 2014, Ross sat on her and restrained her before raping her.
Additionally, Ross subjected a third woman to abusive behaviour over a period from October 2019 to June 2022 in Inverness.
Ross stood trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in May and resigned from Police Scotland after being found guilty the previous month.
However, the original 2014 rape allegation was not included in the trial due to a commitment by prosecutors when the charges were dropped, described in court as an "irrevocable renunciation" of their right to prosecute Ross for that incident.
Police Scotland's Apology and Review
Police Scotland contacted the woman who made the 2014 allegation in 2017 following a complaint about the handling of the investigation.
Chief Superintendent Helen Harrison issued a statement apologising for "failings in communication" related to the case.
"The handling of that complaint was subject of review by the Police Investigations Review Commissioner (Pirc) in 2019 which found three of the four complaints were handled to a reasonable standard and made recommendations for further inquiry into one complaint.
We acknowledged Pirc's recommendation for further enquiry relating to one upheld complaint. Upon completion of this inquiry, we updated the complainer and Pirc to its outcome in 2020."
The Crown Office has been contacted for comment but has not yet responded.
