A predatory cafe supervisor from Pitlochry whose appalling actions drove a young employee to the brink of suicide and forced the collapse of the Pancake Place chain has been sentenced.
Glen Buchanan preyed on four young co-workers at Pitlochry’s Cafe Biba, which was later rebranded by new owners.
The 57-year-old made the employees’ lives a misery, repeatedly placing his hands on their shoulders, buttocks and hips, sending sleazy social media messages and giving them unwanted massages, kisses and hugs.
At a trial in Perth Sheriff Court, Buchanan tried to dismiss his vile conduct as workplace banter, claiming he had a “Benny Hill-style” sense of humour.
But after three days of harrowing evidence, jurors convicted him of four counts of sexual assault.
He was further found guilty of three charges of written or verbal sexual communications, intended for his own sexual gratification or to humiliate or distress his young victims.
The dates of the offending, up to February 2022, are not being reported to protect the staff affected.
The Courier told how the criminal case was a significant factor in the collapse of the Pancake Place – with branches in Pitlochry, Dundee, Dunfermline and Elgin – and the loss of 46 jobs.
Father-of-three Buchanan returned to the dock for sentencing on Thursday.
‘Cocktail of community punishments’
Sheriff William Wood told him: “This offending was persistent and took place over a period of three years.
“You were employed in a management position and the complainers – two of whom were children – would have come to you for guidance and support.
“To that extent, you let them down and you let yourself down.
“There would have been a gap of about 30 years between your age and the age of these young women.”
The sheriff said: “There are a number of disturbing aspects in the (pre-sentencing) report that indicate you didn’t think about what you were doing at the time.
“So I am satisfied that the custodial threshold has been breached.”
However, Buchanan was told there were alternatives to jail.
The sheriff said: “While I’m not going to spend you to prison, I am going to impose a significant cocktail of community punishments.”
Buchanan was placed on supervision for three years and ordered to carry out 300 hours unpaid work.
He was also put on a curfew for six months and will have heavy restrictions on internet use and new relationships.
Buchanan, of Bridge of Tilt, will also stay on the sex offenders register for three years.
Comments made workers’ lives misery
Jurors heard how one victim attempted to take her own life because of Buchanan’s relentless conduct.
The court was told how he made a sexual comment to a female employee when she was a young teenager.
Buchanan told his trial: “I was trying to do some paperwork and she was asking me: ‘What can I do?’
“I told her: ‘Just go and breathe – it accentuates the gentle curve of your breasts.’
“I saw that she was blushing, I don’t know why I said this.”
Another time, he wrote a lewd comment to a staff member on an order slip.
He scribbled the customer wanted their coffee “hot, hot, hot – just like you”.
The trial also heard how he sent five Facebook messages to an employee, telling her he felt “unloved” and suggesting she buy him a birthday present.
He tried to claim he had been touching the female staff members to move them out of his way.
Chain’s collapse
Defence advocate Duncan McPhie KC said his client had been working as a maintenance man at a caravan site but got the sack after his conviction.
He has since found work at a local guesthouse, he said.
“Mr Buchanan does say that he understands his conduct was unacceptable and he is motivated to undertake work to prevent him finding himself in this position again.
“He says this was an eye opener for him and that he needs to take control of his actions.”
The cafe was renamed Pancake Place after it was taken over by new management in January this year – after Buchanan’s assaults.
45 jobs were lost when the high street chain entered liquidation on Monday, with legal documents stating Buchanan’s criminal conduct left the business’s reputation in tatters, sending it into a death spiral.
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