A predator who was cleared of being part of the notorious ‘Beastie House’ paedophile ring has avoided a prison sentence for a sex attack.

Richard Gachagan, 46, was convicted of preying on a woman in Maryhill, Glasgow, while on bail awaiting trial in the horrific child abuse case.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard how Gachagan took the vulnerable 24-year-old victim, who had been reported missing, to his home.

He made her beans on toast before she told him she was tired.

The woman went to bed but was then joined by Gachagan who “attempted to remove her lower clothing” and put his finger in her mouth.

He had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of sexual assault.

Sheriff Matthew Jackson KC said after the trial that the woman was a “credible and reliable” witness.

He added: “She told police what had happened to her at the earliest possible opportunity.”

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Gachagan also admitted a separate assault on a female paramedic on New Year’s Day 2023 at a flat in Broomhill, Glasgow.

Sheriff Jackson on Tuesday put Gachagan on a structured deferred sentence for two months.

This includes an order for Gachagan to attend alcohol counselling.

The sheriff said: “You need to understand that this is an order of the court.

“This is not an invite - I am telling you to go along. If that doesn’t happen there will be consequences.”

Scott McQuire, defending, earlier told the sheriff that his client did not attend a previous sentencing hearing in July after suffering a seizure which caused a gash to his head.

Gachagan was back in the dock nine months after charges against him relating to Scotland’s biggest paedophile gang were found not proven.

Three children were subjected to relentless rape, wanton violence and drug taking at a filthy hovel in Glasgow, described by one victim as the “Beastie House”, between 2012 and 2019.

At the High Court in Glasgow last November, Iain Owens, 45, Paul Brannan, 41, Barry Watson, 47, John Clark, 47, Scott Forbes, 50, Elaine Lannery, 39, and Lesley Williams, 41, were found guilty of raping children.

Owens, Lannery, Williams and Brannan were also convicted of trying to kill a girl they put in an oven.

Mariane Gallagher, 38 was found guilty of assaulting a girl.