Taxi driver from Dumfries admits abusing boy he drove to school

A taxi driver has admitted abusing a young boy who he used to drive to school.

A court heard how John Walls, 59, of Dumfries, began to target his victim when he was aged 11.

The offences were carried out between March 2016 and September 2020.

Walls admitted charges of sexual assault and rape when he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow. He was remanded in custody to be sentenced next month.

Prosecutor Kath Harper told how Walls - who worked for a firm in the Dumfries area - targeted the child when they were alone in his taxi.

She added: "The boy has found it difficult to estimate the number of times this conduct occurred."

Confessed to family

When the victim moved school, Walls continued to keep in touch - including on social media.

He would meet him in his taxi and stop at various places to abuse him again.

The boy's mother eventually became worried when she saw Walls sitting in his cab near her home.

She later spoke with police before her son told a teacher he had been preyed upon by a taxi driver.

Walls was arrested in September last year and initially admitted to his wife he had molested the child.

He confessed to other relatives and stated the victim was "telling the truth" adding he "could not lie any more".