A convicted sex offender is standing for election as an Aberdeen councillor.
Peter Nicol, also known as Peter Reid, was found guilty by a jury of repeatedly abusing teenagers in 2016.
Over a two-year period, he acted in a threatening and abusive manner towards two victims he had been in relationships with.
He also had sex with a 15-year-old he met on Tinder while aware of her age.
Mr Nicol is now standing for election in the Tillydrone, Seaton and Old Aberdeen ward at next month’s local authority elections.
Peter Nicol’s confusing stance
Leaflets have been sent around properties with the hopeful vowing to be a “clear voice” for the area as an independent candidate.
But Mr Nicol, in a string of perplexing calls with the Press and Journal, at first tried to claim his name had been withdrawn from the ballot.
He insisted he had only put himself forward as an independent to ensure Conservative rivals didn’t run uncontested.
The 27-year-old told us he swiftly made the decision to step aside when other parties announced they were fielding candidates.
He initially claimed: “The Tories were putting up people in the hope there would not be a contest…
“When other candidates came forward I put my withdrawl in. I’m not on the ballot.”
Council says claims are untrue
Aberdeen City Council confirmed that he remains a contender, and never submitted a form seeking to withdraw from the election race by the March 30 deadline.
A spokesman was unable to confirm whether one had since been received.
Mr Nicol said he was unable to meet the deadline because he was on a “humanitarian solo mission to Ukraine”.
‘There’s nothing I can do’
When presented with the fact that he is a valid candidate, Mr Nicol suggested the rules should allow people to pull out up until the eve of the vote.
But he later added: “I have made clear my past, and have spoken and listened to the people of the ward.
“I can say if elected I will represent their views and their opinions to the best of my ability.”
What were Peter Nicol’s crimes?
During a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, jurors heard Nicol locked one of his victims outside in his front garden while she was only in her underwear.
Despite her screams, he refused to let her back inside.
And when she attempted to get back in he slammed her fingers in the door.
The court heard on another occasion he pulled the same girl to the floor by her hair and kicked her on the body.
The Aberdeen council candidate was also convicted of banging another teen’s head against the floor.
He also repeatedly made abusive comments towards her throughout the period of their relationship.
Sheriff Annella Cowan placed him on the sex offenders’ register for three years and put him under supervision for the same period of time.
She said: “You are an intelligent young man with Highers in psychology, sociology and communication. These did not do you any good in these circumstances.”
Peter Nicol continues to deny wrongdoing
Mr Nicol pointed out that Electoral Commission rules only ban candidates from seeking election if they have been imprisoned for a year or more.
Today, he claimed that the complaints against him were made maliciously.
He still insists that he thought the 15-year-old girl was 19.
And Mr Nicol, who had part of his ear bitten off in a nightclub in 2014, added that he has made no secret of his conviction.
“Anyone that knows me knows the situation well,” he said.
“I’ve spoken about it for years, I’m well-known in Aberdeen and it’s not something I hide.”
You can see the full list of Aberdeen candidates here, including the other nine candidates for the Tillydrone, Seaton and Old Aberdeen ward.
