A sex offender who smuggled a knife into a court and tried to slit his throat as he was imprisoned has had 32 months added to his jail time.
Robin Parker’s crimes spanned a nine-year period from 2007 to 2016 and took place at various locations in Perth and Kinross and Moray.
He had just been handed a 14-month prison sentence when he removed a concealed blade from his clothing and held it to his throat on December 20 last year.
Parker told Inverness Sheriff Court: “I am not going to prison” and drew the blade across his neck, suffering only superficial cuts that didn’t need hospital treatment.
The 55-year-old was overpowered by court officials, police and a prisoner custody officer, who restrained the father of five, seized the knife and brought the situation under control.
On Friday, Parker returned to the dock to be punished for his outburst, which his lawyer claimed was the result of “panic” from mishearing his original sentence, thinking it was 14 years instead of months.
‘A performance which was shocking and designed to cause as much alarm as possible’
Parker, of Bridge Street, New Byth, Turriff, was convicted in November of last year after a trial for a number of offences – including sexual assault – for which he was jailed by Sheriff Sara Matheson.
Parker had told one of his two women victims that his mum had cancer, asked her for a hug and then pushed his victim onto a bed – attempting to strip her from the waist down.
He reappeared at Inverness Sheriff Court before Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald by video link in the same court as where the knife incident unfolded.
Parker admitted to unlawful possession of a knife and threatening behaviour in the dock.
The sheriff said she was considering referring him to the High Court for sentencing because the offences were so serious, particularly being committed in court.
But instead, she decided to deal with Parker herself.
Sheriff Macdonald told him that he had tried to disrupt justice and court proceedings with “a performance which was shocking and designed to cause as much alarm as possible”.
She said: “It was intolerable. These were deliberate acts flouting the authority of the court.”
‘You put the people who work here and members of the public at risk’
Parker had tried to convince the sheriff through his solicitor, Stephen Carty, that he only had the knife for camping and intended to hand it into the police station next door that day.
He claimed he had forgotten but Sheriff Macdonald disagreed.
She said: “I do not accept you did not intend to bring it into court. You bought it between conviction and sentencing.
“You knew exactly where it was. You pulled it out of your pocket in an instant. It involved planning and you put the people who work here and members of the public at risk.”
The court heard a lawyer sitting in front of Parker saw him reach into his clothing and produce what looked like a black credit card which unfolded into a knife.
He held it to his throat and made a cutting motion as defence solicitor Clare Russell, who was not involved in the case, gasped and exclaimed: “He’s got a knife”.
Mayhem ensued as prisoner custody officer Andrea Stewart, PC David Grant and fiscal depute Robert Weir all intervened to restrain and disarm Parker.
The court heard the security’s metal detector, which had only been installed a few months previously, had not detected the bladed weapon.
Mr Carty said his client had been advised to hand the item into the police but had forgotten.
“When he was sentenced, he misheard and thought he got 14 years. It set panic racing through him and he acted foolishly. He felt under enormous pressure,” he explained.
Offences took place in Perth and Kinross and Moray
The 55-year-old had previously been found guilty after a trial for a number of offences including sexual assault.
A jury had heard how Parker told a woman his mum had cancer and asked for a hug before pushing her onto a bed and attempting to strip her from the waist down.
The incident was the culmination of a course of unwanted “dirty or flirty” behaviour towards the woman by Robin Parker.
It included offering her money to see her private parts and pulling down her trousers to touch her against her will.
The victim was one of two women, with the other telling how Parker had targeted her after offering lifts.
On one occasion, he showed her a sexual image and requested she do the same.
On another, Parker insisted she kiss him on the lips.
The offences took place in Perth and Kinross and Moray between 2007 and 2016.
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