STV NewsA former navy man sobbed after he was convicted of a sexual assault on a woman at a nightclub.
Fraser MacLeod, 29, attacked the 26-year-old woman at SWG3 in Glasgow’s Kelvinhall on December 15 2022.
Ambulance technician MacLeod struck his victim on the buttocks while on a work night out.
MacLeod also struck three other woman at the Bongo’s Bingo event.
MacLeod, of the city’s Maryhill, claimed he drank alcohol after taking four times the amount of prescription medication.
He claimed he could not remember the nightclub events and denied getting sexual gratification from the attacks.
MacLeod was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of sexually assaulting the woman.
He was also convicted of a common assault on the other women.
MacLeod burst into tears after he was informed by Sheriff Allan Findlay that he would be put on the sex offenders register.
The sheriff told the first offender: “You will appreciate that’s the consequences for you.”
MacLeod’s family attempted to enter the dock but were initially stopped by a police officer.
The clerk then ordered the court to be cleared of members of the public.
The court heard from the woman who stated that she was “grabbed by the buttocks” by MacLeod who she did not know.
She claimed that she was sat on a bench when the attack took place.
Michael Stewart, defending, asked the witness if she had a discussion with MacLeod.
She replied: “I told him don’t do that, don’t touch me, you are not allowed to do that.
Mr Stewart said: “How would you describe him at this stage?”
The witness replied: “I would say out of it.”
MacLeod was kicked out of the venue by security at around 10.20pm.
Prosecutor Leo McGinn asked the woman how she felt about the incident.
She replied: “Scared and angry.”
MacLeod told the court in his evidence that he is a suspended ambulance technician with two years service.
He stated that he was in the Merchant Navy prior to joining.
MacLeod claimed that he took four tablets of prescription anxiety medication before going on a work night out.
He stated that he was only supposed to take one tablet per day.
MacLeod added that he drank a half bottle of prosecco before he went to a colleague’s house where he drank cocktails.
Mr Stewart asked his client what condition he was in before he entered the venue and MacLeod replied: “I don’t remember.”
Mr Stewart asked: “You don’t remember anything?”
MacLeod replied: “No.”
MacLeod said that he was “disgusted” after the court was shown CCTV of him in the venue
He said: “I hated myself, I have absolutely hated myself, disgusted with what I have done.”
Mr Stewart put it to him that there was no sexual element and he did not receive sexual gratification.
MacLeod replied: “That’s correct.”
Mr Stewart earlier asked MacLeod how the incident has affected his employment.
A visibly upset MacLeod replied: “It’s killed me, I have worked so hard to get in the ambulance service and when this happened to me my life was destroyed – for me and my family it has just killed us all.”
Sentence was deferred pending background reports until next month and MacLeod was granted bail in the meantime.
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