Abuser leaves £400,000 to Guides

Reginald Forester-Smith was jailed for eight years in 1999

A former society photographer convicted of sexually abusing three young girls has left more than £400,000 in his will to the Girl Guides.

Reginald Forester-Smith, of Brydekirk, near Annan, was jailed for eight years at the High Court in Edinburgh in 1999. He died last year and in his will he left a bequest to the Guides in memory of the work of his late wife. Girlguiding Scotland said it was aware of the legacy but it would be inappropriate to make further comment. Forester-Smith was found guilty of carrying out sexual abuse at addresses in Edinburgh, West Calder, the Borders and at Luce House, Brydekirk. A former photographer, he took indecent pictures of two of his victims during the course of his abuse. The offences were committed between 1967 and 1985. Two of the girls he molested were aged five and six. He also raped another girl who was aged nine when Forester-Smith first started abusing her. His daughter, Tori Dante, later waived her right to anonymity when she published a book in 2002 about the abuse she suffered from her father. In his will, Forester-Smith left more than £1m to charity, including £312,291 each to Cancer Research UK and the Macmillan Nurses Cancer Association. His largest bequest was to the Girl Guide and Scouting Association of Dumfriesshire in “celebration of the life” of his late wife Sheena Forester-Smith. In a statement, Girlguiding Scotland said: “We are aware of the legacy left to Guiding, in memory of Mrs Forester-Smith. “The matter is currently in the hands of the executors going through the legal administrative process and as such it would be inappropriate for us to comment.”