Robert Burns federation boss resigns after child sex offences uncovered
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The president of an organisation set up to promote the works of Robert Burns across the globe has resigned after it emerged that he was a convicted child sex offender who had changed his name.
Marc Sherland quit as the head of the World Burns Federation (WBF), a post in which he organised children’s poetry competitions and boasted that he was safe to work with vulnerable children.
The Sunday Mail disclosed that he had changed his name from Douglas Stuart Hammond after being convicted of sexually assaulting two boys in 1991.
He took on a series of roles in organisations celebrating and commemorating Burns’ works, working with children, presenting awards and judging competitions.
The 67-year-old became the WBF’s president in 2020, but his identity was uncovered in December by another member and he was forced to resign from all the clubs.
Sherland denied that he had changed his name in order to avoid his convictions becoming known, saying he was an author and his birth name was too common to write under.
‘Deeply concerning case’
But MSPs said it was “chilling” that he had gone undetected for so long. The Sex Offenders’ Register was set up in 1997 but it is not retroactive, meaning Sherland would never have been placed on it.
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Tories’ shadow justice secretary, called on the SNP government to fast-track legislation to stop sex offenders changing their names.
He said: “Only an investigation can establish the exact circumstances of this deeply concerning case. While this individual was free to change his name, his past crimes should still have shown up in background checks working with children.
“If checks were done, did they reveal his offending history? If they did not, was that because of his name change?”
The Sunday Mail reported that, as Hammond, he was convicted of the indecent assault of an eight and 10-year old boy when he was an educational community worker at Strathclyde Regional Council.
Court reports at the time said he assaulted the youngsters during “dummy fighting” at his home and claimed the “games” helped the boys break down emotional barriers.
One child had to punch him to get him to stop the abuse, while another confided in his grandmother about what was happening.
Apologised and resigned
After changing his name, he became president of the Lanarkshire Association of Burns clubs, Glasgow Haggis Club and a vice president of the Glasgow and District Burns Association, among others.
In 2017 he started organising the Aye Can poetry summer school for 11 to 16-year-olds at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. He then became president of the world federation, formed in 1885 to educate, celebrate and promote the life and work of Burns.
A source at the WBF said: “A conviction from over 30 years ago came to light. Bridgeton Burns Club president confronted him around Christmas time.
“We did background checks, and it showed a name change. Enquiries were made and the president alongside another trustee met him to confront him about the name change and the convictions. As far as I’m aware he admitted it, apologised and resigned in writing.”
Speaking from his home in Erskine, Renfrewshire, Sherland told the Sunday Mail: “I am a writer, and the reason I changed my name was because as a writer I realised that my given name was relatively common and changing it to a name that was not relatively common was a good idea.
“I’m now suffering because of that, I have to say, but that’s the reason. It wasn’t because of my convictions.”
Did not want to bring any club ‘into disrepute’
Asked whether he accepted that working with children would be a concern to parents and he should not have been doing it, he said: “Yes I think that probably is the case.
“I thought that the distance in time was so great and the change in my personality was so great that it wasn’t such an issue. On reflection, yes I believe that’s true. I’ve never been in a situation where I have been one-to-one with a child, nor would I put myself in that situation in a school.”
He said he had instantly resigned as he did not want to bring any Burns club “into disrepute”.
A Royal Conservatoire of Scotland spokesman said the Aye Can event was commissioned by the Glasgow and District Burns Society, and Sherland did not teach children during the summer school.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Ministers are aware that changes are being proposed by the UK Government in this area and are giving these very serious and detailed consideration. Given the imminent Crime and Justice Bill deadlines, we would welcome further details from the UK Government, so that any implications for Scotland can be properly considered.
“Sex offender notification requirements apply to the individual, irrespective of what name they use – and Disclosure Scotland is alert to the possibility of any person concealing previous names or trying to hide their identity.”
The WBF did not respond to a request for a comment.
