Man held newborn baby over balcony to force mother to have sex with him

A man who held a newborn baby over a balcony in order to force her mother to have sex with him has been jailed.

John Robertson, 49, wept after jurors convicted him on Friday afternoon on a series of sexual assault and rape charges. 

A jury at the High Court in Edinburgh heard how in one of the attacks, Robertson pressured his victim into having sex with him approximately a month after she had given birth to a little girl. 

Jurors heard how he held the child over a balcony in Edinburgh’s Muirhouse area, placing the terrified mum in a state of fear and alarm that her baby would be seriously injured. 

He then pressured the mum into having non-consensual sex with him. 

Robertson, also of Muirhouse, Edinburgh, sexually assaulted a total of three women, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, between 1995 and 2008.  

He was brought to justice after the women spoke to police officers who gathered enough evidence to bring him to justice. 

Robertson spent his week-long trial denying any wrongdoing but jurors concluded there was enough evidence to convict him on a total of ten charges detailing sexual assaults and rapes. 

On Friday, judge Lady O’Neill told Robertson that he had been found guilty of “very serious offences” and she sent him to jail. 

She added: “You will be remanded in custody.”

The story emerged at the end of a trial in Edinburgh.

Jurors heard evidence about how as well as raping the woman, Robertson placed the little girl’s life in danger with the balcony incident, which took place sometime between June 1, 2005 and July 31, 2005.

They also heard how he raped the woman ten days after she gave birth to the little girl in May 2005. He also raped her on other occasions between April 2003 and 2008. 

The court heard that Robertson began preying on women in December 1995 when he was 18. He repeatedly sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl and continued to abuse her until 2001. 

He also subjected a ten-year-old girl to an indecent assault between November 1997 and October 2000. 

During proceedings, Robertson entered not guilty pleas to the charges which prosecutors brought against him. 

However, he was found guilty after jurors spent more than a day deliberating their verdicts. 

Following conviction, prosecutor Chris Miller moved for sentence and submitted a schedule of Robertson’s previous convictions to Lady O’Neill. 

Defence advocate Victoria Dow told the judge that the court would have to obtain a pre-sentencing report on her client. 

She added: “I would not be minded to say anything in mitigation today and I will reserve anything I would say to a future diet.”

Lady O’Neill then deferred sentence in order to obtain a report about Robertson’s background. He will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on November 13, 2026. 

The judge also thanked jurors for their service.