A former lawyer, who prosecuted some of Scotland’s most serious crimes, has been remanded in custody over a series of child sex abuse charges.
John Watt QC was extradited from Oklahoma in the United States in October to face the historical allegations.
He made no plea during an appearance on petition last month and was remanded in custody.
He applied at Livingston Sheriff Court today to be granted bail to allow him to live in a hotel in Scotland until his High Court trial, but the bail application was denied after the court granted a Crown motion to keep him in prison.
Watt, 71, who as a Queen’s Counsel and member of the Faculty of Advocates was a High Court prosecutor in the 1990s, is accused of attacking four children in the 1970s and 1980s.
The former advocate had previously prosecuted for Scotland’s Crown Office and Prosecution Service (COPFS).
He faces one charge of rape and four charges of lewd and libidinous practices against the youngsters.
He is accused of raping a woman when she was aged between seven and twelve.
The prosecution alleges he also attacked two other girls and a boy between 1973 and 1987.
One girl was aged between six and nine at the time of the alleged offence, and the other between nine and 12. The boy was aged between eight and 10.
A COPFS spokesperson warned: "The charges in a case are not set in stone and may change."
The sheriff court ruling means that Watt now faces spending a year behind bars before his case can be brought to trial in the High Court.
Eric McQueen, Chief Executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service, confirmed the average waiting period for High Court trials had doubled to 12 months since the coronavirus outbreak.
A spokesperson for the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh said: “As this case is active it would not be appropriate to make any comment.”
