Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Paedophile hunters snare Moray pervert
An Elgin man snared by paedophile hunters posing as 13-year-old girls online has been convicted and placed on the sex offenders register.
Ailean Kerr sent explicit images to the decoy profiles, asking one: “You hairy or smooth down below?”
He told the other: “Don’t say, but you make me horny.”
Woman in court after Banff house fire
A woman has appeared in court accused of deliberately setting fire to a house in Banff, forcing residents to flee their homes for safety.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the blaze on Campbell Street after being called for help at 5.21pm on Sunday September 22, with a call to Police Scotland received under 20 minutes later.
Neighbours crowded together on pavements and watched on after evacuating properties for their own safety.
Boarder woke up to landlord on top of her
A woman woke up disorientated in the dead of night to find her landlord sexually assaulting her, a court has heard.
Alastair Robertson, 63, snuck into the woman’s bed as she slept, climbed on top of her and touched her private parts before demanding that she have sex with him, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
When the horrified woman jumped out of the bed and refused, he blamed her for being a “tease” and said that if she reported what happened “no one would believe” her.
Trial set for man accused of murdering New Elgin mum
A man accused of murdering a woman at her home in New Elgin last year is set to stand trial in the middle of next year.
Owen Grant is alleged to have fatally attacked Lucretia Donaghy at the property on Anderson Drive in November 15 2023.
Prosecutors claim that the 32-year-old, who was affectionally known to loved ones as Kiesha, was repeatedly struck on the head and body with an unknown object.
Grant, 42, appeared at the High Court in Glasgow for a short hearing earlier last Monday.
Aberdeen man on FOUR murder bid charges after car hits people in Buckie
An Aberdeen man is facing four attempted murder charges and one of drink-driving after several people were struck by a car in Buckie.
Emergency services were called to Cluny Square in the town early last Saturday morning.
Police Scotland confirmed three men were injured after being hit by the vehicle.
Yorkshire pair in court accused of defrauding Aberdeen bank branches
A man and a woman from Yorkshire have appeared in court after Aberdeen banks claimed they had been scammed out of thousands of pounds.
The pair were arrested on the morning of Thursday September 19 after the police were alerted by branches at Albyn Place and Union Street.
Reports allegedly indicated the fraudulent theft of around £5,000 in cash.
Paedophile’s secret Highland campervan trip
A child sex offender’s motorhome trip across the Highlands landed him in prison for failing to report he would stay at campsites where children were present.
Kenneth Bond admitted failing to keep police properly informed about his whereabouts and that he would likely be near families with young children.
The 63-year-old – who was once found waiting for a 12-year-old in a hotel room with a bag of sex toys, ropes and alcohol – managed to stay at the sites without the authorities knowing for over six months.
Jail after man legged it from Aberdeen court dock
A man who fled the dock of an Aberdeen courtroom in a desperate dash for freedom was jailed for over a year.
Paul John McCallum, 27, was only stopped by the quick thinking of a police officer after he leaped out of the dock and sprinted from the courtroom of the Mercatgate annex building last year.
As he was sentenced to a year behind bars on July 24 last year, McCallum bolted from the courtroom and managed to reach a lower floor, where he violently struggled with police and security staff.
Dangerous driver caused A9 crash
A driver whose dangerous undertaking manoeuvre caused a crash on the A9 at Daviot has been banned from getting behind the wheel.
Kian George was attempting to pass in the inside lane when he misjudged the speed of a lorry and swerved.
His actions sent another car over the central reservation and into the opposite lane where, fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic.
‘Stupid’ boy was showing off speeding before car crash
A teenager who crashed a car with young passengers on board has been banned from the roads.
The 16-year-old – who is too young to legally drive – had taken his family car and began speeding through the streets of Alness before he crashed – twice.
As he was banned from driving for 32 months, the youngster was told by the sheriff: “Your parents … could have been attending your graveside.”
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Four in court after alleged Forres teen stabbing
Four men have appeared in court following the alleged stabbing of a teenager in Forres.
Emergency services were called to High Street in Forres in the early hours of Sunday September 22 after receiving reports that an incident had taken place.
A 17-year-old man is understood to have suffered a stab wound and was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin for treatment.
Fake cop scammer jailed after conning pensioner
A prolific fraudster who conned a Lerwick pensioner out of their life savings as part of a massive crime spree has been jailed for more than 13 years.
Derek Moore embarked on a calculated campaign to impersonate police officers and dupe vulnerable victims out of hundreds of thousands – and used shotguns in a bid to convince people he was legit.
The scammer, of Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, got hold of a list of elderly people across Scotland and would cold call them to attempt his scam.
Highland man caught with animal porn loses his pets
A sheriff was so disgusted by a Highland man’s extreme pornography charge she put the case on hold so welfare officers could take his pet cats.
Prosecutors took action against David Smith after he was found in possession of thousands of videos depicting sick sexual images involving animals.
The 67-year-old was due to be sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court, but Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald put it off so she could take immediate action to protect Smith’s cats.
Boxing champ’s 105mph in uninsured car
A boxing champ from Montrose was caught doing 35mph over the speed limit – but can keep his licence.
John Docherty won the adulation of Scot boxing fans everywhere when he won a bronze medal at the 2018 Gold Coast games.
But the 26-year-old, who fought out of Aberdeen’s Byron Boxing Club, went from the podium to the court dock due to his driving on one afternoon in January.
Thief’s pockets ‘loaded’ after breaking into mum’s house
A desperate thief broke into his own mum’s home – and was caught with his pockets loaded with £150 in coins.
Mark Parvin forced open a window at the address on Corthan Drive in Kincorth before clambering inside and filling his pockets with cash.
The 41-year-old was spotted by neighbours and quickly traced and arrested by the police.
But the apprehension did nothing to steer Parvin away from offending.
Knifeman vowed to stab and ‘eat’ police
A knife-wielding yob told police officers he’d slash them, “watch them bleed out” and then “eat” them.
Brandon Guyan appeared at the window of a flat in Byron Square in Aberdeen waving the knife towards officers who were dealing with somebody else.
The 20-year-old warned he would “stab” and “slash” officers – before adding the chilling threat that he would eat them.
Fiscal depute Brooklyn Shaw told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened on June 15 2023.
US national caused serious A96 crash
A US national whose dangerous driving caused a crash on the A96 has been banned from the roads.
Rebecca Darden had consumed a glass of wine before she pulled into the path of an oncoming car near Auldearn.
The resulting smash left the driver and passenger of the other vehicle seriously injured, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.
Shop worker scarred in bottle attack
A shopkeeper has said he holds no grudge against a thug who smashed him in the face with a bottle, leaving him permanently scarred.
Omar Aziz was working at Station News in Inverness city centre when alcoholic Dylan Bannister viciously attacked him.
Bannister had been trying to steal alcohol from the popular shop – which has since closed – and Mr Aziz caught him in the act.
In an attempt to get away, the brute grabbed a bottle and smashed him in the head with it.
Man loses job for attacking colleague
A man left his colleague with facial fractures after punching him in an unprovoked drunken attack during a work night out.
Gordon MacAllister stunned his victim with a fierce punch as he stood at the bar in McNasty’s bar in Aberdeen city centre.
The 58-year-old workshop technician texted his victim to apologise the next morning – but was sacked as a result of the incident.
Now, on top of his job, the assault has cost MacAllister a hefty fine and compensation payment.
Man who accused politicians of hate crimes sentenced for racist rants
A man who tried to report Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar to police for ‘hate crimes’ found himself in the dock for his racist rants about the politicians.
Matthew Whyte called the former First Minister a ‘brown s*** stain’.
Complaining about the leader of Scottish Labour he spoke of ‘Nazi brown scum’.
Whyte, 56, appeared at Tain Sheriff Court for sentencing earlier this week.
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Public pool pervert jailed for assault on girl, 12
A pervert made unsettling comments to a pre-teen girl – then sexually assaulted her in a swimming pool in Aberdeen while laughing.
Mehrdad Esmaeili made his 12-year-old victim feel so uncomfortable at Northfield Swimming Pool in Aberdeen she reported him to a lifeguard.
But the 35-year-old failed to change his behaviour and, on another occasion, swam up to the girl.
His victim deliberately moved to a different part of the pool to avoid him.
Serial flasher exposes himself to women – again
A compulsive sex fiend landed back in the dock after being caught touching himself in front of two startled women at an Aberdeen woodland.
Victor Rae had his trousers down around his knees and was performing a solo sex act when the walkers spotted him near Sheddocksley Sports Centre.
The 53-year-old pervert has a long history of disturbing sex offences, often involving lurking in woodland and flashing women.
Married Aberdeenshire care home worker sexually assaulted colleagues
A married Aberdeenshire care home worker sexually assaulted his female colleagues for years – leaving them feeling embarrassed, intimidated, shocked and upset.
Michael Findlay repeatedly slapped and grabbed colleagues’ bums over nearly two years.
The 60-year-old sex pest was sacked when his brave victims spoke out and reported him to management and then the police became involved.
Findlay later appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, confessing his crimes.
Drink-driver’s alcohol abuse after break-up lands him in trouble
A drink-driver who was more than five times the legal limit was told it was “merciful” that his reckless actions didn’t kill someone.
Christopher Mackenzie was spotted “encroaching” on the oncoming carriageway after he got behind the wheel to pick up food near his home in Conon Bridge.
Mackenzie, 48, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court, where he pled guilty to a single drink-driving charge on September 7 this year.
Police raid catches drug dealer with cocaine in his home
A suspected drug dealer was caught with cocaine and thousands of pounds in cash when the police raided his Highland home.
Michael Sutherland told officers searching the Black Isle property there was “stuff in the downstairs cupboard” and a tub containing “rock substances” was recovered.
Police also found over £2,000 in cash at the dwelling in the village of Avoch on January 25 last year.
Pet owner attacked SSPCA staff after mistreated dogs confiscated
An Aberdeen woman violently lashed out at SSPCA staff after six mistreated dogs were confiscated from her poor care.
Marisha Whyte admitted to causing unnecessary suffering to two adult Border Collies and four puppies, Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard.
They were removed by the animal welfare charity towards the beginning of 2022.
Romance conman’s fake cancer scam
A romance conman who pretended to have cancer to scam his victim out of an estimated £50,000 has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.
Scott Fraser, 56, used deception and outright lies to misrepresent his financial position, allegedly claiming he was due to receive a six-figure dividend and had made millions as the founder of an international engineering firm.
It’s understood that Fraser also claimed to be in the process of selling his Oman and Russia-based firm to oil and gas giant Shell in a multi-million-pound deal.
This claim is supported by court documents seen by the Press and Journal.
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