Our reporters have been sitting in courtrooms across the north and north-east this week and covered a wide variety of cases.
Man, 25, sentenced over sex assault on woman, 75, in Aberdeen city centre
A man has been placed on the sex offenders register after he sexually assaulted a 75-year-old woman in an Aberdeen backstreet.
Rachid Bouasria, 25, kissed and groped the pensioner, who was a stranger to him, the city centre, Aberdeen Sheriff Court was told.
Bouasria carried out the terrifying assault as his victim made her way along a secluded side street near the Castlegate area.
Sting operation snared Aberdeen paedophile as he waited for girl, 12, at bus stop
An Aberdeen man who attempted to meet a 12-year-old schoolgirl for sex has been jailed after paedophile hunters confronted him at a bus stop.
William Gauld was on his way to meet what he thought was a child called Demi – but it was actually a sting operation.
Gauld, 42, sent the girl numerous sexually explicit messages – most of which are too disturbing to report – before arranging to meet her off a bus in Aberdeen.
Forres drug driver handed year-long roads ban
A Forres man who drove on a cocktail of drugs has been banned from the roads for a year.
Thomas Bailey appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court and admitted to getting behind the wheel of his car in 2024 when he was unfit to do.
The court heard he had gone to visit – uninvited – his former partner at her Hopeman home, but had left his vehicle parked without care outside and had clipped the kerb while doing so.
She called the police who arrived shortly thereafter to arrest him.
Fort William man convicted of sexual assaults against teens
A Fort William man has been convicted of sexual assaults against three young victims, as well as charges of indecent communication, voyeurism and sexual exposure.
Robert Lawrie had denied any wrongdoing during a trial at Inverness Sheriff court, but following days of evidence, including testimony from his victims, a jury took under two hours to convict him on six charges.
One of his victims told the court that Lawrie’s behaviour made her feel “vulnerable” and “uncomfortable”.
The charges detail how Lawrie, 38, targeted a teenager by striking her on the buttocks, commenting on her body and asking her intimate questions.
Three men in the dock after £1 million cannabis seizure from Cove home
Three men have appeared in court following the seizure of cannabis with an estimated street value of £1 million from an address in Aberdeen last week.
The drugs haul was uncovered during a police raid on a home in Cove Close where £7,000 in cash was also confiscated from the residential property in the Cove area of the city.
Two men – Arteo Hoxha, 22, from Aberdeen and 23-year-old Klajdi Oshafi, of no fixed abode – were arrested at the scene on Friday March 21.
A third man, Ho Guang, 38, of no fixed abode, was arrested at Brimmond View, Stoneywood.
Inverness woman used the N-word before pouring juice over victim
A woman used the n-word before assaulting a man on an Inverness street, a court has been told.
Tammy Kernaghan used the slur and shouted: “There is no black in the Union Jack” before pouring juice over her victim and slapping him.
When police were called she also assaulted an officer at the scene.
Man found with indecent images of girls in hidden folder avoids prison sentence
A paedophile who was found with a collection of indecent images on his mobile phone has avoided a prison sentence.
Andrew Forbes, 42, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where he admitted having around 20 images of children in his possession, all of which were of young girls.
Some of the indecent material found on Forbes’s phone featured girls as young as five years old.
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Keith man admits to attacking two former partners
A Keith domestic abuser who bit one of his former partners and struck the other has been warned he could be jailed.
Mark Strathdee appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court on Monday and admitted two charges of domestic abuse, which were carried out between 2022 and 2024.
The 24-year-old’s first victim was struck on the head and body to her injury and he repeatedly demanded to know her whereabouts.
He also made offensive remarks to her and repeatedly called and messaged her.
Tenant of £140,000 Cuminestown cannabis farm had ‘no knowledge of drug trade’
A man who let an organised crime gang take over an industrial estate unit and transform it into a £140,000 cannabis farm has been jailed.
Kevin McGarvey, 35, is understood to have been in thrall to an underworld group for many months when a unit he rented at Cuminestown Industrial Estate was raided by police.
Finding it set up as a working cannabis farm with lights and growing tents, police officers linked McGarvey to the unit through paperwork they found when they searched his home.
The maximum potential value of the cannabis found was £137,850.
Aberdeen medical student loses fight to overturn sexual assault conviction
An Aberdeen medical student who molested a woman at a party has failed to persuade appeal judges that he was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault.
A court had heard earlier this month how David Little, 24, fell victim to a miscarriage of justice during proceedings at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last year.
Little, who studies at Aberdeen University, was found guilty following a trial at the city’s sheriff court last year of sexually touching and repeatedly trying to kiss a fellow undergraduate in November 2021 at a flat.
He was also convicted of groping the same woman during a taxi journey through Aberdeen.
Aberdeen teen joyrider gets community service for speeding through city
An Aberdeen teen who drove at high speeds through red lights and on pavements to evade police has been banned and given community service.
Lee McLaughlan was just 17 at the time of the police pursuit, which began on the city’s Lang Stracht on the evening of November 9 last year.
McLaughlan came to the attention of traffic cops when they noted the BMW he was driving was displaying fake plates.
Aberdeen ‘bully’ avoids jail after fast food restaurant attacks
An Aberdeen man who brutally attacked customers at an Aberdeen fast food restaurant has been branded a bully in court.
Wayne McNaughton, 37, launched his unprovoked assault on two men sitting inside Popeyes on Union Street last month.
McNaughton pled guilty to two charges of assault and also admitted behaving in a threatening manner towards two shop workers in a separate incident, which took place last year.
Serial Aberdeen flasher banned from public spaces
A serial Aberdeen flasher has been banned from any beaches, parks or wooded areas for two years after he committed more sex crimes in the city.
Victor Rae, 53, admitted touching himself in front of two women at an Aberdeen woodland.
The court previously heard Rae had his trousers down around his knees and was performing a solo sex act when the walkers spotted him near Sheddocksley Sports Centre on August 4 last year.
Alness man convicted of domestic abuse after attempting to smother woman
A man has been convicted of domestic abuse after he tried to smother his former partner.
Craig Hayden straddled the woman and squeezed her neck, restricting her breathing and placed pillows and towels over her face.
Hayden, 29, had initially denied the charge of assaulting the woman to her injury but changed his plea following emotional testimony from his former partner at Inverness Sheriff Court.
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Every day our reporters are sitting in courtrooms around the area and now you can get their stories sent directly to you, five days a week.
Pair admit dealing after drugs worth £30,000 found
Two men have admitted drug dealing charges after cannabis and cocaine worth £30,000 were found by police.
Jordan Hughes, 21, and Darren Stewart, 27, were in a vehicle driven by Mark Alsopp that failed to stop for police.
When they were searched, along with their homes, drugs with a total value of £30,600 were recovered.
Woman found guilty after ‘intimidating’ Aberdeen Home Bargains protest
A pro-Palestine protestor has been found guilty of a breach of the peace following an “intimidating” disturbance at an Aberdeen branch of Home Bargains.
Willemein Hoogendoorn, 62, was part of a larger group of activists who entered the Beach Boulevard store on February 22 this year.
Hoogendoorn, of Springbank Place, Aberdeen, denied the charges and has been held behind bars since the day of the protest after she refused to agree to bail conditions that would ban her from the store.
Four teens charged with extortion after Robert Gordon’s College teacher suspended
Four teenagers have been charged with extortion and assault after a video of an Aberdeen private school teacher was circulated online.
The social media footage, believed to have been filmed in a city park, was reported to police last month.
Robert Gordon’s College teacher Zak Cartney was arrested and subsequently suspended from his role as police investigated an alleged online communications offence.
Offshore boss handed ban after being caught 16-times drug-driving limit in Elgin
An offshore construction boss has been banned from driving for three years after he got behind the wheel of his car 16 times the legal limit for drugs.
Elgin Sheriff Court heard that Andrew Macbeth, 39, was pulled over by police last year after he decided to take cocaine the night before.
They recorded a reading of 129mg of cocaine per litre of his blood and 800mg of benzoylecgonine, a chemical compound that is produced when cocaine is metabolised in the body. The limit is 10 and 50, respectively.
Ellon woman avoids jail after violent home assault on three police officers
An Ellon woman has avoided going to prison after she reported a crime but ended up beating up the police officers who came to help.
Amber Bruce, 33, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, where she admitted violently assaulting three police constables within her home address.
Bruce – who was electronically tagged two years ago for assaulting her friend’s mum with a prosecco bottle – also uttered a homophobic slur during the melee.
Highland man told he is the reason domestic abuse programme exists
A Sutherland man who verbally abused and threatened his partner during their relationship has been told he is the very reason why a domestic abuse programme exists.
Gordon Henderson, 36, appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court, and he was banned from contacting his victim for the next five years.
The court heard his relationship of about eight years turned sour in 2019 when he began drinking and became increasingly angry towards his partner and their newborn child, culminating in the police being contacted last August.
Three-times-the-limit Highland drink-driver hit motorcycle with works van
A driver was more than three times the drink-drive limit when he hit a motorcyclist and knocked him off his bike, a court has heard.
Richard Matheson was driving a works van when he failed to stop at a junction and collided with the motorcycle.
A subsequent test revealed his breath alcohol level to be 74 microgrammes per 100 mililitres – the legal limit being 22 microgrammes.
Matheson, 41, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit charges of drink-driving and careless driving.
Man fined after fighting stranger who made ‘homophobic’ remarks about cocktail glass
A Laurencekirk man has been fined after he punched a stranger who had earlier made a homophobic remark about the size of his cocktail glass.
Lee Sangster’s night out in Aberdeen city centre ended in violence when he crossed paths with his victim in The Stag bar.
The 34-year-old and the other man clashed after a drink was spilled just after midnight on December 14 last year – but trouble had been brewing earlier in the evening, the court heard.
Aberdeen teenager claims £3,000 cocaine stash was for pal’s birthday party
An Aberdeen teen has been placed under supervision after being found with £3,000 worth of cocaine.
Lewis Wood was just days away from his 18th birthday when police entered his Arnage Drive home with a search warrant on February 1, last year.
Now 19, Wood appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to supplying cocaine and possession of heroin.