A young Highland League footballer has admitted slipping ecstasy tablets into a 14-year-old girl’s mouth while he kissed her at a party in Inverness.
Stefan MacRitchie, 20, of 3 Lawers Way, Inverness, admitted a single charge of supplying the class A drug at an address in the city on January 1, 2014.
Sentence was deferred to later this month.
Fiscal depute Michelle Molley told the court that the incident happened at the home address of a friend of the victim.
The fiscal said that “many teenagers” had met to see in the New Year on December 31, 2013.
The adult householders were present but the majority of the people inside the property were under 18 and knew each other from school.
Ms Molley said that alcohol was openly drunk by the teenagers attending the party.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, arrived at about 8pm with a friend and was drinking alcohol she had obtained earlier in the evening.
Ms Molley told the court: “In the early hours of January 1, 2014 she and the accused met and began kissing.
“During the kiss the accused passed one item from inside his mouth into her mouth.
“The complainer swallowed the item.
“The complainer asked the accused what he had put into her mouth and he replied ‘eccies’ which she perceived to be the controlled drug commonly known as ecstasy.
“She terminated the contact and immediately proceeded to the toilet concerned at what she had ingested.”
MacRitchie left the party shortly after the incident.
Later in the afternoon of the same day, the victim’s father contacted the accused by telephone.
During the conversation MacRitchie apologised for what he had done and said he would present himself to the police.
When he failed to do so, the victim’s father went to MacRitchie’s home address where he lived with his parents.
Ms Molley added: “The accused was confronted by the complainer’s father as well as his own parents about his conduct towards the complainer.
“During this confrontation the accused admitted he supplied the complainer with ecstasy.”
The girl made a formal complaint to police on January 6 and a toxicology report later confirmed that she had ingested ecstasy in the early hours of January 1.
MacRitchie was detained by police on February 10 and interviewed under caution, making “no comment” to the officers. He was then charged.
Ms Molley said: “Prior to this incident the accused knew the complainer from school and knew her true age.”
MacRitchie originally pleaded guilty to the same charge at Inverness Sheriff Court on November 17, 2015.
That plea was initially not accepted by the Crown Office pending the completion of ongoing police inquiries and a forensic investigation.
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood deferred sentence for the completion of a criminal justice social work report.
Defence agent Mike Chapman deferred his mitigation until the report has been produced.
MacRitchie has recently signed for Strathspey Thistle, having previously played for Fort William in the Highland League.
He has also been on the books at Clachnacuddin.
MacRitchie will appear again in court for sentence on August 30.