A personal trainer to the stars who tried to ruin a top north-east lawyer’s life was last night branded a “world class con man” by his victim.
Property solicitor Alexander Hutcheon was put on trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court accused of assaulting his wife Nicola and racially abusing her ex-lover Steve Agyei.
But Mr Hutcheon was cleared of all the allegations against him after the sheriff labelled Mr Agyei’s evidence “unreliable”.
Sheriff Janys Scott said she believed it was “clear” the fitness instructor had an agenda against the north-east lawyer.
And she said she was unsure as to whether this stemmed from his love of Mrs Hutcheon – or a drive to damage her husband financially.
Speaking exclusively to the Press and Journal after yesterday’s verdict, Mr Hutcheon said he had always been confident he would be acquitted and said he was glad Mr Agyei could finally be “seen for what he is – a world class con man”.
Last night, Mr Agyei defended himself, but said he “completely accepted” he had “tried to bring Alex down”.
He insisted he was “no con man” but added that he understood why people would think he was.
He said: “I am completely devastated by the verdict. All I did was tell the truth.
“I have been completely hung out to dry. I was always the victim in this situation and now I feel like I am the one who should have been on trial.”
It was alleged Mr Hutcheon, 58, had attacked his wife at their home in upmarket Rubislaw Den South by poking her on the face with his finger.
He was also accused of acting in a threatening and abusive manner on the same night by making racist remarks, which were alleged to have referred to Mr Agyei.
However, he was acquitted of assault on Thursday after the Crown decided to drop the charge and a no case to answer submission was accepted on the allegation he made racist remarks.
Former fitness coach Mr Agyei – who claimed he worked with celebrities including Spice Girl Emma Bunton and ex-prime minister Tony Blair’s wife Cherie – also alleged he had been racially abused by Mr Hutcheon in January at the Noose and Monkey pub in the city.
Giving evidence during the first day of the trial Mr Agyei told the court he had been called a “monkey and a tink” by Mr Hutcheon, who came into the pub to confront him while he was there drinking with his wife.
However, Sheriff Scott found the solicitor not guilty yesterday after she said she found all of the Crown witnesses to be unreliable.
She said: “When it comes to Steve Agyei he had clear motivation to discredit Mr Hutcheon.
“It wasn’t clear if it was due to some romantic idea or whether it was driven by a desire to cause damage to him financially and the court has to bear this in mind and treat his evidence with caution.”
The court previously heard Mr Agyei met Mrs Hutcheon, 44, in May last year at a charity event at Aberdeen’s Malmaison Hotel.
During his evidence Mr Agyei claimed that within a week of meeting her she had left her husband and started a relationship with him.
He told the court that over the last year he had been subjected to continual racial abuse from the solicitor, and as a result bombarded police with demands Mr Hutcheon be prosecuted and even consulted Mrs Blair about what to do.
However, the court heard that when no action was taken, Mr Agyei set about trying to get “corroborated evidence” to present to the authorities to “bring Alex down”.
Representing Hutcheon, solicitor-advocate George Mathers said his client had been deliberately targeted by the “penniless” personal trainer who was trying to make his fortune by using Mrs Hutcheon for her money.
Mr Mathers said in order to ensure his place in Mrs Hutcheon’s life the fitness coach had to make sure her husband was no longer in the picture.
Mr Agyei denied this last night and said he still hoped Mrs Hutcheon, the woman he loved, would come back to him.
Mr Hutcheon said he and his wife, who are now back together, wanted to “move on” and “draw a line under the matter” for the sake of his marriage and his children.
He said: “As far as myself and my family are concerned, we are glad this ordeal is over, from the start I had every confidence that the Scottish legal system would ensure that justice prevailed. The verdicts today proved that.
“The continual involvement of Police Scotland at the instigation of one particular individual, apparently assisted by lawyers, has caused great distress, particularly to my children, and this is deeply upsetting to both Nicola and myself.
“I have instructed my lawyer to consider what action, if any, might be taken in that regard.”
See the moment Aberdeen solicitor Alexander Hutcheon confronted his wife and her former lover in a pub here.