iStockA violent sex offender has been jailed for two years after he threatened jurors and spat at a police officer when he was convicted of crimes against young women.
Charlie Swain launched into foul-mouthed abuse and struggled violently with female custody officers as he was taken from a courtroom at the High Court in Edinburgh after he was found guilty of crimes against two victims.
Swain, 21, was later jailed for six years for the catalogue of abuse he subjected the victims to, with one woman also being assaulted to the danger of her life.
He carved his name into the thigh of one victim with a knife during abuse and subjected another to verbal abuse, physical violence and sexual assault.
A judge ordered that he should now serve a further 24-month jail term after that sentence for his disruptive and violent conduct at the end of his trial.
Lord Ewing said: “It is of great concern that you threatened members of the public who were required to undertake jury service.”
The judge said he regarded the fact that threats were made to the jury as a significant aggravation. He added that the assault on a police officer who was charged with maintaining order and security in the High Court was also an aggravation.
He said that spitting on someone as Swain did was “a disgusting, cowardly act designed to demean”.
Swain admitted behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on August 20 this year at the High Court. He made derogatory remarks towards the jury, court officials, staff and police officers. He shouted, swore and made threats towards members of the jury and repeatedly uttered threats of violence and struggled violently with custody officers.
He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a PC by spitting at him. Some of his spittle also struck the head of a custody officer.
Advocate depute Naomei Warner said that during his trial, Swain was “disruptive, rude and argumentative throughout and warned on numerous occasions about his behaviour”.
Swain was unanimously convicted of three offences, although the jury deleted elements from some charges.
The prosecutor said: “Upon delivering and confirming of the verdicts and the accused being advised that he was being placed on the sex offenders register due to the guilty verdict, including an occasion of sexual intercourse without the first complainer’s consent, the accused began muttering in the dock and then behaving in a volatile manner.”
Ms Warner said the grandfather of one of the victims was in the public benches and shouted “monster” after the verdict was delivered. Swain was told repeatedly to be quiet by the trial judge, Lord Summers, but refused to stop.
The prosecutor said: “He started clapping his hands sarcastically towards the jury, mocking them for their verdict. He told those in the well of the court that “you are all f***ing c***s” and “f***ing useless”.”
She said: “He started to say that he ‘wasn’t a beast’ and made comments towards the jury, including ‘see what happens this week’.”
The trial judge directed him to leave and go to the cells, and two women custody officers took hold of him and walked towards the door leading from the courtroom towards the cells.
The prosecutor said: “The accused started to become louder, again saying he was not a beast and then proceeded to make threats towards those in the court, shouting that ‘everyone was getting it’.”
“He looked towards the jury and made critical comments to them, saying ‘so you remove four sections, but you leave one. Well done. I wilnae forget that’,” she said.
He started pulling his arm that was handcuffed to one of the women custody officers after he left the courtroom and the PC went to assist.
“As soon as he appeared, the accused directed his aggression towards him and started shouting and swearing. The accused shouted towards him ‘what are you gonna f***ing do? I’ll stick the f***ing nut right on you right f***ing now, dirty f***ing piggy f***.’.”
He spat at the police officer, with his spittle landing on his stab-resistant vest and some of the spray striking the side of a woman custody officer’s face.
The prosecutor said: “The accused’s shouting could be heard by all in the courtroom. He was then taken down the stairs and he was placed back in his cell. He continued to shout and swear from his cell for about 20 minutes.”
Defence counsel David Taylor said it appeared that when the trial judge indicated that Swain was to be placed on the sex offenders’ register that he realised he had not been acquitted of all the sexual allegations he faced and then began to act abusively.
He said Swain now wished to apologise for his behaviour and had apologised at the time to Geoamey officers once he calmed down.
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