A PAEDOPHILE from Elderslie has been convicted of abusing two schoolgirls during his time as a music teacher.

William Wright, 78, preyed on the teenagers almost 40 years ago while they were pupils at a school in East Renfrewshire.

One victim described being “terrified” of him and not wanting to object to the abuse because she needed his help to get through her exams.

The grandad-of-eight, who sometimes plays the organ at Elderslie Kirk, claimed he had “no explanation” as to why the women would make such allegations.

But, today, a jury at the High Court in Glasgow convicted him of two charges of using lewd and libidinous practices and a charge of indecent assault towards the two women between August 1974 and June 1981.

A police probe into the married dad-of-three's conduct led to the women, now aged 54 and 57, being tracked down.

The 54-year-old victim fought back tears in court as she said she had been “too afraid” to speak up about what was happening to her all those years ago.

She told advocate depute Sheena Fraser: “I was terrified of him. He was a man who had a temper and I just didn't put up any objection.

“I felt at the time, I was 13, 14 years of age, at this stage decided I wanted to do music when I left school – I needed him.

“There was nobody to go to, it was only him, there was nobody else you could do your music lessons with.”

Wright often put his fingers into her shirt and underwear while in a sound-proofed practice room.

He would brazenly carry out the abuse while she sat at a piano with him, sometimes when other pupils were sitting at the other side.

She said Wright would take her hand, put it in his pocket and have her touch his private parts.

In her sixth year at school, Wright took her from one of the music rooms into a cupboard and carried out a sex attack on her.

She said: “He took me by the wrist, he took me into the music cupboard, he locked us both in and then pushed me down on the floor.”

Wright attacked her and then told her “not to come out for a couple of minutes.”

Later, he gave the tearful schoolgirl a lift home because she had missed the school bus.

Wright denied any wrongdoing and said he was “quite gutted” at the suggestion he was a predator.

In evidence, he told the jury: “It just wasn’t me. Simple as that, it just wasn’t me.”

However, after the jury returned its verdict, Lord Arthurson told Wright: "You have been convicted of serious sexual offending against two young girls with whom you had a role as their school teacher."

Wright had his bail continued as sentence was deferred until Tuesday, September 11