The independent LGBTI association representing police in Scotland is fundraising for a youth charity which recently referred itself to police over allegations of child sexual exploitation.
LGBT Youth Scotland, formerly the Stonewall Youth Project, is known as Scotland’s national charity for “LGBTI young people.” The charity referred itself to Police Scotland after Reduxx reported on historic abuses alleged by two former youth members.
Sam Cowie, a university student from Glasgow, described his experience with LGBT Youth Scotland to Reduxx in December of 2022. He stated that he first became involved with the charity in 2010 at the age of 15.
“At first I thought it was great. There was a diverse group of young people involved. Colorful people and people who were unapologetically themselves. It was eye-opening and a lot to take in. The staff were friendly and nurturing,” Cowie said in December.
“I really didn’t realize I was being groomed until a much later date. It started with being given cigarettes. It later progressed to being taken for drinks and given alcohol. I was given a [fake] ID by a member of staff to gain entry into adult venues. I was given things that were considered special,” Cowie explains. “A staff member also made me show him my torso in the bathroom.”
Cowie recounts being taken by charity staff to gay clubs in Edinburgh while he was underage. He was exposed to a much older group of men who began offering the vulnerable teen money in exchange for sex.
“I was plied with alcohol free of charge, encouraged to sleep with older men and given money to perform sexual acts,” Cowie had told Reduxx.
Cowie cut ties with the charity at 17 and, now an adult, he is speaking out about his experience and demanding answers. Specifically, Cowie has been pursuing answers as to why a safeguarding investigation was not carried out into the organization after their former Chief Executive Officer, James Rennie, was convicted of organizing Scotland’s “largest pedophile network” in 2009, just one year before Cowie became involved with the charity.
James Rennie became Chief Executive Officer of LGBT Youth Scotland in 2003. In 2007, his pedophile ring was uncovered following a lengthy operation by Lothian and Borders police.
As well as collecting thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse, Rennie also sexually abused his own infant godson over a four-year period. The abuse started when the child was just 3 months old. Rennie had also used the e-mail handle “kplover,” (kiddie porn lover) to communicate with another pedophile who described how he would like to rape, torture, and murder a child.
While soliciting child sexual abuse materials, Rennie once sent an email specifically requesting material featuring “young Down’s syndrome or learning difficulty kids.”
Rennie’s accomplice and fellow ringleader, Neil Strachan, had also sexually abused an infant boy, attempting to sodomize him while being HIV positive.
“Although I was young, many people involved in this charity were in their twenties and thirties, and, as far as I can tell, there was no safeguarding or anything. In fact, it seemed more like a social network to connect older men with [often vulnerable] teenagers.”
Nechtan told Reduxx that charity staff had encouraged him to use “gay chatrooms” where he met a 24 year-old man pretending to be a 16 year-old boy. He describes how the older man became his “boyfriend”. Nechtan explained that through his older “boyfriend” and the older men he were met through the charity, he was encouraged to accept payment in exchange for sexual acts. He also explained how he met Rennie and Strachan through the charity, the leaders of Scotland’s “largest pedophile ring.”
Nechtan explained how they would buy him drink and drugs as a teen. Rennie and Strachan would give him alcohol in exchange for sexual contact. On one occasion, Strachan allegedly instructed Nechtan, who was then aged 17, to have sex with a 16 year old boy in front of him. Despite Nechtan’s experience, LGBT Youth Scotland claimed at the time of Rennie’s arrest that no youth members of the organization had been impacted by his predation.
Following the Reduxx exclusive in December of 2022, LGBT Youth Scotland released a statement on their website addressing the allegations.
“LGBT Youth Scotland are aware of allegations of historic exploitation made by individuals who used our services in the past. LGBT Youth Scotland takes any complaints and allegations seriously and we have reported these allegations to Police Scotland and will support them fully with any investigation.”
Speaking to Reduxx on behalf of LGBT Youth Scotland, Holyrood Public Relations provided the Police Scotland reference number associated with the investigation and confirming that they had in fact referred the allegations to police. But Police Scotland has repeatedly refused to provide concrete details on the nature of the investigation despite multiple requests.
Despite an ostensibly open police investigation involving the charity and calls for them to be investigated by the UK charity commission for alleged child abuses, Scottish LGBTI Police Association announced on February 24 that they were crowdfunding on behalf of LGBT Youth Scotland.
In the description of their crowdfunder, the Scottish LGBTI Police Association wrote that LGBT Youth Scotland creates “safe spaces” for “LGBTI young people aged 13-25.” The Association is an independent membership group for police officers and policing staff in Scotland. They are officially recognized by the Scottish Government, Scottish Police Authority, Police Scotland and UK-wide police forces including British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear Constabulary.
The Scottish LGBTI Police Association shared their fundraiser on Twitter but were met with backlash from twitter users who pointed out the on-going investigation into the charity.
The Scottish women’s rights organisation, For Women Scotland, responded to the Scottish LGBTI Police association saying: “Aren’t the police supposed to be investigating this organization? Do @PoliceScotland make a habit of raising money for groups under investigation for child grooming and abuse?”
Survivor Sam Cowie also spoke out against the association on twitter calling the fundraiser “an absolute kick in the teeth,” and said he felt the move would send the wrong message to other alleged victims of LGBTYS who might be considering coming forward.
“Police Scotland are raising funds for the charity that groomed me and others. The same Police Scotland that aren’t doing anything to help me. The same Police Scotland that investigated former CEO paedophile of this charity and said his crimes weren’t connected to his role,” Cowie wrote on Twitter.
Scottish LGBTI Police Association have since put their Twitter account on private, but the crowdfunding page is still active.
The fundraiser was part of Purple Friday, a campaign organized by LGBT Youth Scotland to encourage people to show support for “LGBTI young people” by donating to their charity. However, the charity has only raised £1,612 on this year’s Purple Friday, their largest fundraising drive, despite having a target of £25,000.
On their official TikTok, the Scottish LGBTI Police Association made a music video about their efforts.
The funds are purportedly being used to fund LGBT Youth Scotland services and resources. As well as offering youth groups for children as young as 13, the charity provides information packages for public education, such as one created for school teachers to use on “international pronoun day.”
Other resources offered by the charity include a detailed sex guide for girls as young as 13 which includes information about anal sex, sex toys, oral sex and masturbation.
LGBT Youth Scotland also manages a scheme for employers and schools. They award businesses their “LGBT Charter” if they complete their program which involves training and a review of policies and procedures.
The Edinburgh division of the Scottish police signed up to the LGBT Youth Scotland’s LGBT Charter in 2021.
In addition to the police, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner of Scotland is also directing young people to use LGBT Youth Scotland’s services while the investigation into the organization’s potential misconduct ongoing.
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