A party-goer dressed as a zombie has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman dressed as a fairy tale character at a Halloween party.
The victim was dancing with her husband when Steven Green butted in between them.
Green, 22, initially put his arms around both of the couple but then turned his back on the man after being told they were married.
Even though he was warned off, Green persisted in grabbing hold of the woman and thrust his hand up the skirt of her costume to touch her private parts.
Green, who was drunk, claimed in court he was just being friendly and denied indecently assaulting the woman, but a sheriff found him guilty and placed him on the Sex Offenders Register.
Perth Sheriff Court was shown footage of the incident which took place in The Loft nightclub in Perth during a Halloween party in the early hours of 1 November last year.
Green could clearly be seen grabbing hold of the woman and – with his back to her husband – lurching forward several times to try and kiss her.
Green, Kingswell Terrace, Perth, was found guilty of behaving in a sexualised manner and grabbing hold of the woman’s body, placing his hand up her skirt and touching her and repeatedly trying to kiss her.
The woman, from Perth, was visibly distressed as the CCTV footage from the club was shown in court and she said she had been shocked by his behaviour.
She told the court she had been at a party and she and her husband had gone as the fairy tale characters.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said they had been dancing together when Green – who was unknown to them – came staggering over to join them.
She said she told him she was with her husband but he refused to go away and instead continued trying to kiss and grope her until he was finally taken away by stewards.
Fiscal depute Rebecca Kynaston told the court: “Clearly the complainer stated in her evidence that he put his hand up her skirt. She gave very clear evidence.
“Initially she was OK with his attention, but he then crossed the line. She was unhappy with the way he was touching her and attempting to kiss her.
“She did not encourage him in any way and it was not welcome attention. There was certainly no evidence of consent. The actions of the accused were shown on the CCTV.
“He could be seen in the footage to have his arms around her, have his back to her husband and lean down towards her in what she felt was attempts to kiss her.
“He was then seen to parade on the dancefloor with his arms restraining her and she was clearly upset. Her husband said he was concerned for his wife.
“The CCTV footage is quite explicit in showing the sexual element. It was not her husband he was showering attention on. He appeared to be following her on the dancefloor.
“She was there with her husband, dancing with her husband. She wasn’t putting herself out there as a single person. There was a significant sexual element to this charge.”
Sheriff Christopher Shead said: “The court did not accept his denial. It did not regard that evidence as in any way credible.”
Sentence on Green was deferred for the preparation of reports and his details were added to the Sex Offenders Register.