Sex predator Jordan Cameron, 23, was jailed for three and a half years for attempting to rape a 16-year-old girl he believed was sleeping after he had been out drinking in Dundee.
Judge Lord Young told remorseless Cameron at the High Court in Edinburgh he took into account sentencing guidance for young people – Cameron was aged 19 at the time of the “opportunistic” crime on June 29 2019.
The first offender, formerly of Fairbairn Street, Dundee, was originally charged with assaulting and raping the girl, who was pretending to be asleep.
He denied the charge but was convicted of attempted rape following a trial.
Cameron, who followed the sentencing proceedings via a TV link to prison, was told he will be on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.
Vigilante mum
A vigilante mother bundled a suspected drug dealer into a van before strapping him to a chair and leaving him bound and gagged with duct tape. Linda Gowers,40, took direct action over fears he was part of a county lines drug gang targeting children in her home town of Kirriemuir.
Wedding venue charges dismissed
Owners of a wedding business charged with ignoring an order from Fife Council banning them from conducting marriages on their land have had their case dismissed in court.
Ian Macallan, Ruth Macallan and Thomas Macallan, directors of Bonnie And Beau Ltd, had faced allegations they operated against an enforcement order served on them by the local authority in the summer of 2019.
At Dundee Sheriff Court, not guilty pleas were accepted for 38-year-old Ian Macallan, 38, and Ruth, 37, both of Fife.
70-year-old Thomas Macallan, of Devon, pled guilty to the offence but was given an absolute discharge by Sheriff George Way.
It had been alleged the three conducted commercial weddings at Carphin House, Luthrie, between August 17 2019 and September 14 2019, both dates inclusive, on land designated by Fife Council as “Class 9” – typically reserved for housing.
As part of the charge, the three were also accused of using the land as “residential”, in contravention of the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland).
Fife Council served an enforcement notice on the company, asking it to cease.
This enforcement notice was ignored and the company “did fail to cease use of the land for operating a commercial wedding venue”, according to the charge.
Double sentencing
A paedophile waiting to be sentenced for downloading sick child abuse files will be dealt with for a second identical offence on the same day. Last month, Matthew Watt, 23, admitted downloading and possessing indecent images of children before a trial in which he was acquitted of a transatlantic sextortion plot. He was also found with more sick material on his phone.
Teen police threat
A teenager who threatened police officers in Perth while holding a broken bottle has been let off with a warning.
The girl, who is too young to be named publicly, admitted causing a disturbance on Scott Street on January 2 last year, when she was 16.
She appeared at the city’s sheriff court and pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, like to cause fear or alarm.
The court heard police were called to Perth city centre just before 1am, following concerns about the girl’s behaviour.
Holding a broken bottle, she told officers she was going “stab or slash” them if they came any closer.
Sheriff John MacRitchie told her: “Everyone in life does something stupid and I will put this down to your occasion.
“I will admonish you. This is a warning that you cannot act in this way.”
He added: “It’s unfortunate that someone of your age has a record, but you will appreciate it has to be recognised in some way.”
Football betting trial
A footballer at the centre of a betting fraud trial told police his co-accused were going to place bets on him being booked in a League Cup clash against Hibernian. Kane Hester, from Montrose, who plays for Elgin City, was booked in the tie in July 2019 but maintains to police it was not deliberate. He is accused of forming a scheme with three others from the Angus town to con £13,583 from a bookmaker.
Charleston attack charge
A homeless man has appeared in court accused of a sustained assault at a Dundee community centre.
Christopher Lawson appeared from custody in private accused of attacking 65-year-old James Livingstone.
Lawson, of no fixed abode, is alleged to have attacked Mr Livingstone at Charleston Community Centre on March 2 by repeatedly punching him on the head and body.
Court papers allege this left Mr Livingstone “severely” injured.
The 38-year-old made no plea and was released on bail.
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