An oil boss has been jailed for more than five years after being found guilty of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a woman in Aberdeen.
Andrew Murray, 51, was convicted by a remote jury at the High Court in Aberdeen of sexually assaulting and attempting to rape the woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, while she was incapable of giving or withholding consent due to being asleep or unconscious and intoxicated.
The incident took place at Murray’s second home on Union Grove, after he had earlier attended a party at Pittodrie Stadium in December 2018.
Murray, who had denied the charges against him, was also found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by trying to destroy evidence and avoid detection.
He removed bedding from the address, dropping pillowcases and a sheet on the stairs and in the garden, changed his clothes, left in the early hours of the morning before police arrived and drove to his home in Buckie where he showered.
And now Murray has appeared back in the dock to be sentenced over the matter.
Sentence
Judge Graham Buchanan told Murray, of Linn Avenue, Buckie: “You took advantage of the vulnerability of your victim and subjected her to a very unpleasant and humiliating ordeal which has clearly caused her a great deal of distress both at the time of your attack and in the aftermath of it.
“It’s inevitable a custodial sentence will be imposed for such a serious offence.
“You made matters considerably worse by seeking to destroy evidence which could have implicated you in the commission of that crime.”
The judge ordered Murray to be jailed for four years over the sexual assault and attempted rape, plus a further 18 months for the attempting to pervert the course of justice charge.
He also made Murray subject to the notification requirements of the Sexual Offences Act for an indefinite period.
Mitigation
Defence counsel David Moggach had told the court Murray, who was a director of an oil firm at the time of the offence, had a “good work ethic”.
He said Murray had suffered a “fall from grace” with the “loss of good employment in a high position”.
Mr Moggach said his client had also brought “shame” on himself, his friends and family.
He added Murray’s position remained the same as it had been during the trial, that the sexual contact had been consensual.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.