Top lawyer subjected woman to 18-month campaign of abuse

A lawyer could be facing jail after subjecting a woman to an 18-month campaign of abuse.

Alexander Hutcheon assaulted, stalked and harassed the victim as well as demanded sex with her.

She was left, at times, upset and scared of the 70-year-old, who would try to lavish her with expensive trips away, including trips to the luxury Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire.

Hutcheon appeared in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday.

He pled guilty to a charge of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour spanning between June 1, 2022 and January 9, 2024.

Hutcheon – a leading property solicitor in the north-east of Scotland – was bailed pending sentencing next month.

The pair had known each other for several years, having initially met through his legal work before going on to see each other “on and off”.

Prosecutor Michelle Brannagan initially told the court that, in drink-fuelled rages, Hutcheon would often shout and swear at the victim as well as call her names while accusing her of cheating.

But the lawyer would splash the cash on hotel stays, holidays and designer clothes for the woman. He would later cut them up when the relationship ended.

Hutcheon would bombard the woman with messages.

Ms Brannagan added: “The woman provided police with a download of WhatsApp texts exchanged between February 9 and September 17, 2023, which extended to almost 1,500 pages.”

Many of the messages were described as “perfectly ordinary”, but a large number were also “argumentative” or of a “manipulative, infantile and petulant nature”.

The victim would often try to ignore Hutcheon, including blocking him on social media. He would persistently call the woman and threaten to speak with a solicitor.

During an argument at the Gleneagles Hotel in September 2023, Hutcheon called the woman a “tink” and a “cow,” and claimed he would call the police on her for allegedly stealing keys.

Despite that, the lawyer repeatedly asked the woman to return to carry out a sex act on him.

The court heard of Hutcheon’s physical violence towards the woman, including one occasion where he kicked her in the shin at a hotel before leaving with all their belongings.

Ms Brannagan said: “The woman called police, who arrived at the hotel room to find her naked with a sheet wrapped around her. She was in a state of fear and distress.

“The hotel room was also noted to be in a state of disorder.”

After a row on a flight back to Scotland from Amsterdam, a taxi driver described the victim as “visibly upset” upon seeing Hutcheon outside her home.

The lawyer was spotted shoving the victim when she got to the front door. He could be seen pushing her again when inside.

The driver waited for a few minutes before Hutcheon came out and gestured at him to “f*** off”.

Hutcheon was again physical with the victim while they were at a boxing event in Aberdeen in December 2023, when both had been drinking.

He was seen to snatch her bag and put his arm across her chest, leading to the staff having to split them up

Hutcheon was heard commenting about the woman “speaking to other men”.

Ms Brannagan said: “She was asked by staff to join them and speak with Hutcheon, but she appeared to them to be scared and declined to do so.”

Hutcheon, of Rubislaw, Aberdeen, assaulted the woman during a New Year hotel break in 2024.

The woman called her sister the next day. She was so concerned that she wanted the woman to get a taxi to go to her home.

Hutcheon went on to grab the phone and branded the victim a “dirty little mink”. He hurled the mobile, hitting her in the face.

Hutcheon also hounded the woman while she was at a private Aberdeen gym and stalked the victim while she was at a beauty salon in a shopping complex in September 2023.

Hutcheon first appeared in the dock in connection with allegations involving the woman in the summer of 2023.

The woman sent a “lengthy” email that year to police claiming she was “experiencing anxiety” at Hutcheon being charged and that she was “unsupportive of a prosecution”.

Ms Brannagan told the court: “In August 2023, further messages demonstrate a dispute between the woman and Hutcheon, where she asks him to ‘stop compiling emails on my behalf’.

“He responded that the email had been dictated by her. The woman disputed that, stating he had asked her to do so.”

Mark Stewart KC, defending, said Hutcheon was a “successful” lawyer, who had spent a week on remand in HMP Barlinnie at one stage.

Lord Renucci deferred sentencing until later this month in Dundee.

The judge stated: “In the circumstances, I am persuaded that your bail should be continued, but please do not read anything into that.”

He added it would be in Hutcheon’s “interests” to stay away from the woman.

Lord Renucci further said he would continue consideration on a non-harassment order banning the lawyer from contacting the victim, as well as whether the offences merit him being put on the sex offenders list.