A wanted man from Fife who fled to France has finally been convicted of crimes against three different women and is now wanted by the authorities back on the Continent.
A jury in Kirkcaldy found Ian Nicol guilty of six charges, including headbutting a woman in the mouth and posting an indecent photo of another online.
Following the verdict, it emerged Nicol had failed to appear at a court hearing in March 2015 in relation to the offending.
Instead, he went to live in France and a European arrest warrant was obtained.
Procurator fiscal depute Jamie Hilland told the court after the four-day trial: “As I understand it, in the intervening period he did in fact return to the UK and was arrested.
“He appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on August 9 2021 on a failure to appear warrant and was remanded in custody since August 2021.
“In terms of outstanding matters, there’s now an extradition process ongoing the other way.
“French authorities are trying to extradite him.”
Trial
Nicol was convicted of sending messages and images to one woman which were grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character, on various occasions in Glenrothes and elsewhere, between November 2008 and September 2009.
He also took an indecent photo of the woman in her underwear without her knowledge or consent and sent it to her, threatening to post it on the internet.
On various occasions between January 2005 and November 2008 he assaulted the woman by seizing her by the body and pushing her, causing her to fall.
Nicol acted in a threatening or abusive manner towards another woman in the town by posting an indecent image of her on her personal social media account, in August 2013.
And he assaulted another woman at a different address in Glenrothes by pinning her against a wall and on a bed, striking her on the body, and headbutting her in the mouth to her injury, on various occasions between May 1999 and November 2000.
He was also convicted of acting in an abusive and threatening manner towards the same woman by throwing items about, damaging walls and breaking glass panes in a door.
‘Serious’ matter
Following the guilty verdicts, Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane told Nicol she considers the matters to be serious and said more will need to be determined about his potential extradition to France.
The sheriff said: “Custody is uppermost in my mind and I need to find out about the background and other proceedings potentially in another jurisdiction.”
Sentence was deferred until April 28 for background reports and Nicol was remanded in custody.
The court heard Nicol has one previous conviction of assaulting a woman, from 2008.
