An Angus pervert who sexually assaulted a woman at a housing support service told police it was an accident.
Serial sex pest William Whyte claimed he “tripped” when he slapped his victim on the buttocks.
The 50-year-old, who is already on the Sex Offenders Register, admitted the assault at Forfar Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Jill Drummond said the woman had been on a landing at the North Grimsby complex in Arbroath.
Whyte, who was staying at the Hillcrest-run service at the time, May 10 this year, smacked her on the buttocks as he walked past.
The woman told him: “That is inappropriate.”
He said he had not meant it but he was reported to police.
Whyte told officers: “I did put my hand on the wifey but it was an accident. I tripped.”
He added: “Not guilty. It was an accident.”
Whyte was already awaiting sentence for walking into a stranger’s home, asking to have sex with her and then wetting her 10-year-old daughter’s bed.
The serial menace had also told an elderly woman at Arbroath bus station she had a “fat a**e.
Whyte will be sentenced later this month, on the same day he finds out his punishment for harassing a paramedic tending to him after a fall in a park.
Salt ‘n’ SIM
A pregnant woman tried to smuggle a stash of contraband SIM cards into Perth Prison using a bag of crisps. Amanda Fleming was caught when guards became suspicious of her interactions with an inmate in the jail’s visiting area.
Attacked two women, two years apart
A burly sex attacker who carried out assaults on women in Fife towns two years apart was jailed.
Stuart Cooper, 43, of Wilson Avenue, Denny, used his body weight to pin down a victim, before raping her at a house in Methil.
He had already sexually assaulted another woman, who he pushed and pinned onto a bed at an address in Leven.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the first woman – who kept telling Cooper she did not want to have sex as he forced himself on her – was “too scared” to report the incident at the time.
She told the court she kneed him in the groin as she tried to get away from him and he fell on the bed, allowing her to get out of the house.
Cooper denied a series of charges during a trial but was found guilty of sexually assaulting the first woman on an occasion between July and December in 2015 and raping the second on an occasion between March and June in 2017.
The ground worker was further convicted of assaulting a man by punching him on the head at Oakvale Road, in Methil, on May 21 2017.
After the verdicts were returned the jury heard Cooper has previous convictions, including for assault.
He has been held in jail after failing to turn up for a previous trial hearing last year.
Judge, Lord Fairley, put him on the Sex Offenders Register and remanded him in custody for the preparation of a background report.
Gangland enforcer
A gangland enforcer who targeted an innocent couple’s Tayside home in a bid to frighten them into paying off their son’s drug debt has been jailed for 14 months. Robert Notman, 45, tried to extort money from the addict’s mother by targeting her home and demanding she repay her son’s £80,000 debt.
‘Out my nut’
A would-be thief was caught trying to hide in a bush after a failed Fife shop raid.
Adam Bett, 38, admitted attempting to force open shutters and break in to Lynn’s Convenience Store, Lochleven Road, Lochore, with intent to steal on January 15 last year.
He also pled guilty to unlawfully having a knife the same day and assaulting a woman by seizing and repeatedly shaking her in Kirktoun Gardens, Ballingry, the day before.
Procurator fiscal depute Jamie Hilland told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court there had been an argument involving her and another man shortly beforehand.
Defence lawyer Alistair Murphy said his client attacked the woman because she had stolen from his mother.
At around 2.50 the next morning, a neighbour was alerted to banging from the shop and phoned a man associated with the premises.
He arrived as the banging continued so flagged down patrolling police, who saw the shutters had been forced up.
The fiscal said: “They found the accused trying to hide in a bush”.
The court heard curfew-breaching Bett, who appeared in the dock from custody, was found in possession of pliers and a knife.
Later that day, while being charged, Bett said he had been “out my nut” and “out my mind” and that he “made a bad mistake”.
Mr Murphy said his client – a roofer until he injured himself in a fall – has a “lengthy” criminal record and custodial sentences have not changed him so suggested trying a drug treatment and testing order.
Sheriff Robert More highlighted the most concerning aspect of Bett’s offending was carrying a knife, given he has previous carrying blades, including a sword.
He deferred sentence until September 19 for background reports and Bett was released on bail.
In March 2022, Bett admitted clambering through a hole in the roof of a Premier Store in Ballingry and stole £400 from a till because he said the shopkeeper had been rude to him and failed to give him the correct change.
Just a few days later, he was embroiled in a drug-dealing trial in which a friend was convicted, despite his claims the drugs involved were his and had been hidden by him in her home.
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