A disgraced shop boss who grabbed and kissed a teenager without her consent will not be placed on the Sex Offenders Register because a sheriff ruled the offence was not “significantly” sexual.
John Dobbie admitted attacking the 17-year-old woman at the Mountain Warehouse store in Pitlochry, where he worked as a supervisor.
The 44-year-old was originally charged with sexual assault, but last year prosecutors accepted a guilty plea to common assault.
Dobbie was placed on the Sex Offenders Register in November when he appeared at Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing.
Sheriff Gillian Wade told him she was “concerned” his plea had been accepted, given that there was a “significant sexual aspect” to the offence.
She deferred sentence again until this week.
Now, a different sheriff has declared the offence was not serious enough to keep Dobbie registering as a sex offender.
Daft and abusive
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told him: “When I say it’s daft, I’m not minimising what happened.
“This was an abusive position.”
The sheriff said: “We could say there could be some kind of sexual element here but it is not significant.”
Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, said the assault – which happened at the Atholl Street store on April 12, last year – had led to “calamity” for his client.
“His life has been turned upside down by his behaviour,” he said.
Dobbie, of Finlay Terrace, Pitlochry, was ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work and placed on supervision for a year.
He was warned he could face prison if he fails to engage with programmes designed to address his offending.
‘Touchy feely’
Dobbie lost his job after the kiss, which he told police was “like a kiss I would give my daughter or an elderly person”.
Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson previously told the court Dobbie and his victim were known to each other and he was like a “father figure” to her.
She said: “That morning, the accused and the complainer were at the locus.
“The accused began asking the complainer about kissing him.
“He encouraged her to try it and asked if she wondered what it would be like.”
Ms Wilkinson said: “The complainer told the accused ‘no’.
“The accused then moved in close to the complainer and attempted to kiss her.
“He seized her by the body and pulled her in.
“He kissed her on the lips and she pulled away.”
Dobbie told her: “This doesn’t change anything, okay?”
“The complainer replied ‘okay’.
“She told her mother about what had happened and she also spoke to two members of staff at the store.
“They noted she was in distress.”
The court heard Dobbie described himself as “touchy-feely”.
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