A man has been admonished for carrying out attacks on a young woman and a schoolgirl – having spent months in prison awaiting trial for rape.
Earlier this week Dean McKenzie was cleared of a string of horrific offences at the High Court in Aberdeen.
The 24-year-old had been facing allegations that he raped a girl when she was aged between 13-15. He was further accused of raping a young woman on several occasions after he met her on dating website Plenty of Fish.
Prosecutors claimed McKenzie committed the sexual assaults using a variety of items, including ice, paint rollers and hairbrushes.
The 24-year-old was also accused of carrying out a string of violent assaults on the two females by attacking them with saws, knives and cigarettes.
But after the first complainer gave evidence earlier this week the advocate depute dropped all of the sexual charges against McKenzie.
Instead, he admitted two significantly reduced charges of assault, one against each of the women.
McKenzie’s mother Annette Ross, 48, was also on trial alongside her son, accused of assaulting and abducting both complainers. However, all charges against her were dropped on Wednesday and she walked free from court.
McKenzie admitted assaulting a teenage girl on two occasions by punching and kicking her on the body to her injury.
One of the assaults was committed at his mother’s home, 15 Greenburn Drive, Aberdeen, and the other at the Thainstone Centre in Inverurie.
McKenzie also admitted assaulting the other female by seizing her by the body and punching and kicking her on the head and body.
The offence was committed between February and April 2013.
Representing the repeat offender yesterday, senior counsel Brian McConnachie, QC, said his client was “not very bright” and that he had been “extremely immature” when he committed the offences.
He said his client had been remanded in custody for more than seven months as he awaited trial for “very serious offences” – the equivalent of a 14 month sentence.
Addressing Lord Burns, Mr McConnachie said the charges which McKenzie had now admitted would normally have been dealt with at summary level.
He urged the judge to deal with the matter in a way which would allow him to walk free from court.
Addressing McKenzie, Lord Burns said he took into account that he had already spent a considerable amount of time in prison and had been facing very serious allegations, and was admonishing him on both charges.