A musician from Perthshire has been ordered to pay compensation after an “utterly disgraceful” sexual assault on a woman in the middle of a busy pub.
Nicol McLaren, of Blairgowrie, had previously appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court to admit fondling the woman’s breasts on January 28 this year.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the 64-year-old was introduced to the woman after compering at an event elsewhere in Lerwick, Shetland.
After getting talking, McLaren groped her breasts and lifted them up as part of a “magic trick” leaving the woman “extremely shocked”, the court heard.
The woman felt “completely violated” and left by another exit before going home.
She sought support from local services and then reported the incident to the police.
McLaren initially denied the incident happened, the court heard previously.
‘Devastating’ effect on public standing
Speaking in mitigation this week, defence agent Tommy Allan said he wanted to convey his client is “truly sorry”.
“There was no intention on his part to cause upset or humiliation,” he said.
He added it was “of course, a sexual assault” and while McLaren might have tried to play it off as a joke at the time “he’s very much aware that it’s not funny now”.
He said the incident had a “truly devastating” effect on McLaren and his public standing, adding “some might say it’s deserved”.
The defence agent said a social work report on McLaren was “detailed and favourable”.
However Sheriff David Harvie said he had “concern about some elements of the report”.
McLaren “accepted some responsibility and did appear to regret” his actions, the sheriff read from the report.
But he questioned whether McLaren was only doing this to “protect” his “sense of self”.
‘Utterly disgraceful’ assault
The sheriff called McLaren’s behaviour “utterly disgraceful” and said it had been a “contrived grab” which had left his victim “extremely shocked and upset”.
The attack had a “long-term profound impact” on the woman, the court was told.
Sheriff Harvie ordered McLaren to pay his victim £1,000 in compensation within the next nine months and placed him under supervision for a year.
He will also have to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work within the next six months and will be placed on the sex offenders register for the next year.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
