Wife of Scots entrepreneur given community service over US nightclub arrest

Mary Gorman: The 44-year-old was arrested in a Florida nightclub.

The wife of a Scots entrepreneur charged with attacking a police officer and possessing drugs in a US nightclub has struck a deal to do community service.

Mary Gorman and her husband Chris were arrested in Orlando, Florida, last August.

Gorman had been offered a pre-trial deal by the State Attorney’s Office previously before it was withdrawn, leaving it likely that she would stand trial on the charges.

However, on Wednesday her lawyer Mark Horwitz stated that the 44-year-old has accepted a renewed offer to participate in a "pretrial diversion program" [sic] that would see her complete community service work for charitable organisations in America.

The case centres on an incident in the men’s toilets of the Roxy music venue in the city where Gorman, her husband and another man were found by a police officer.

Initially, the arrest affidavit from police stated that Gorman had been performing a sexual act, but Mr Horwitz stated that the arresting officer later confirmed that these details were "incorrect and not true".

In a letter released on Wednesday, Gorman’s lawyer added: "The pretrial diversion program is a frequently used method of resolving criminal cases. The State Attorney’s Office and not the court decides when and in what cases to offer pretrial diversion to defendants.

"The program involves a defendant performing community service usually to charitable organisations."

Gorman’s legal representative also stated that the acceptance of the offer "does not involve an admission of guilt" while upon completion of it, the case against her would be "dismissed by the state".

Mr Gorman has a business history in technology companies such as The Gadget Shop and internet services firm Reality Group, while he is currently a director and shareholder in radio promotions firm Lucid PR.

His wife describes herself as a "creative entrepreneur" with business interests in technology, music, beauty and the creative industries on her personal website. He was originally arrested and charged with resisting arrest during the incident, but the allegations were later dropped by the State Attorney's Office.

She lists Core Content Scotland Ltd as being her "long established business". In April this year a striking off notice for the company registered to an address in Glasgow city centre appeared in the Edinburgh Gazette.

The pair have four children and live in Renfrewshire having met and married in Cumbernauld in 1992.

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