A convicted sex offender who molested a teenage boy while he slept at a house in Kinross-shire has been spared jail.
Lucas Cole, who was prosecuted under the name Oliver Bond, went on to sexually assault the same “vulnerable” victim twice over the next four years.
The 32-year-old had denied indecently and sexually assaulting the man, claiming they were “friends with benefits” and the acts were consensual.
But last month a jury at Perth Sheriff Court found Cole guilty of all three assaults.
Three years ago, Cole – who is non-binary and referred to as they/them – was convicted of sexually assaulting a transgender woman at a flat in Perth.
The same woman gave evidence at last month’s trial to help corroborate testimony from Cole’s male victim.
Comply or go to jail
Cole, from Cardenden, returned to the dock for sentencing this week.
Sheriff David Hall said they did not appear to accept any responsibility for their actions “at all”.
He told the accused: “It seems to me that you just don’t get the seriousness of this matter.
“I acknowledge the age of these offence and that you have subsequently carried out a community payback order in relation to the high court matter – and these offences pre-date that matter.
“With some hesitation, I am going to allow you to remain at liberty.”
Cole was placed on supervision for 18 months and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work.
They will also be electronically tagged as part of a six-month restriction of liberty curfew.
Cole of Kirkburn Drive, will stay on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
Sheriff Hall added: “Unless there’s any misunderstanding, the order has been imposed as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence. If you don’t do it, you go to prison.”
Victim was unable to give consent
David Holmes, defending, told the court that Cole and their victim had been “in a relationship for some time”.
He said: “Because of the restriction on the questions that can be asked in such cases, the ladies and gentlemen of the jury simply were not aware of that.”
The court heard how at some point in 2010, when he was 15 or 16, the man was indecently attacked by Cole while he slept at a property in Milnathort.
Jurors heard the teenager woke up with Cole’s penis in his mouth.
Fiscal depute Lora Apostalova said the victim had been asleep and was incapable of giving or withholding consent.
She said Cole later forced themselves on the same person in a “strikingly similar” way.
Attack in Perth
When they appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2019, Cole was handed 200 hours of unpaid work following their conviction for sexually assaulting a transgender woman at their then home in Princes Street, Perth.
The woman told jurors they had drank alcohol and watched The Big Bang Theory together.
She then went to Cole’s bedroom and fell asleep.
Later, she woke to find Cole touching her penis under her clothing.
Ms Apostalova said: “She was not able to give full consent to what was happening to her body.”
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