West Lothian prisoner dies behind bars as his son says 'there is a place in hell for him'

The son of a West Lothian paedophile who has died behind bars has said "there is a special place in hell" for him.

John Andrew Ballantyne's dad, John, was jailed in 2022 for a catalogue of abuse on his son and many others in Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire from 1977 to 2018. Known as the "beast of Bonnybridge", the 62-year-old was two years into a 12 year sentence when he died in HMP Addiewell this week.

His son, John, 43, was told about his death on Monday, May 13, after being contacted by the Scottish Prison Service, reports the Daily Record.

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John Andrew, from Coatbridge, said his first reaction to the news was anger that his dad had escaped justice in dying.

He said: "When I got the call, I felt anger rising up inside me. I wanted the opportunity to eventually confront him.

"I wanted to one day look him in the eye and tell him what he had done to me, but I felt like all of that had been taken away from me.

"I also wanted him to suffer in prison because I got comfort from the fact that he was inside and paying the price for all the harm he caused to my family and to other children.

"The two years he did in jail is nothing for the crimes he committed. So in a way, him dying feels like we haven't had any justice and that he has given us one last kick in the teeth. But I know there will be a special place in hell waiting for him."

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He added that he refuses to acknowledge Ballantyne Snr as his dad and calls him 'the beast' instead.

He said the ordeal caused by his dad left him with life long trauma and that he slept with a kitchen knife under his pillow on the eve of his 11th birthday to stop sex attacks from him - following four years of abuse between 1987 and 1991.

John Andrew continued: "I have spoken about it before, but I used to sleep at night with a knife under my pillow as a child and have been diagnosed with severe PTSD as an adult.

"My own daughter has even suffered secondary trauma as a result of what he did and we have both had to undergo counselling, so this still lives with us all every day.

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"People say put it behind you, but that is impossible."

"For everything he done for nearly forty years it just feels like a bad joke that he only had to serve two years in jail.

""I have heard through family members that they are planning on cremating him against his wishes but that's fine with us.

The Scottish Prison Service has been approached for comment.