Sunshine on Leith actor to appeal sex assault conviction

Scots actor Kevin Guthrie is to appeal against his conviction for sexually assaulting a vulnerable woman.

The 33-year-old Sunshine on Leith star took advantage of the 29-year-old actress who had appeared unwell after a night out.

The incident occurred at the flat of fellow actor Scott Reid – Methadone Mick in BBC’s Still Game.

Guthrie insisted he had only “helped” the woman that night, but his DNA was found on the inside of her underwear.

He was convicted after trial in April and was jailed for three years on his return to Glasgow Sheriff Court for sentencing last Friday.

Guthrie, of Glasgow’s Yorkhill, was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

A spokesman from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service told STV News: “The court has advised that there was an intention of appeal against sentence and conviction lodged on Tuesday.”

The attack occurred between September 30 and October 1, 2017.

During sentencing, sheriff Tom Hughes said: “The court must show that women can be protected from domestic sexual offences and those who do should suffer serious consequences.

“The offence you have been convicted caused distress and consequences to the young woman involved in this case.

“You committed this crime in a position of trust.

“She was unwell and thought her drink had been spiked elsewhere that night.

“The other man was urgently getting medical assistance and you were left in the room with her when she was not able to look after herself.

“The jury accepted that you committed these heinous crimes and the only appropriate sentence is imprisonment.”

The trial was told the woman had been due to meet Guthrie and Mr Reid at a bar on the night of the alleged attack.

However, Mr Reid received a call from a taxi driver to collect her as she appeared ill.

He and Guthrie helped the woman into a flat in Glasgow’s Kelvindale and put her on a bed.

Mr Reid called NHS 24 leaving Guthrie in the room “to make sure she was okay”. But, the woman recalled Mr Reid not being in the room and bed covers then “being moved down my body”.

She went on: “I remember my top being lifted up and my bra being held down.”

The woman was groped by Guthrie before he performed a sex act on her.

She went on: “There would be times when Scott would come back in the room and he would pull the covers back on top of me and pull my top down.”

Guthrie – who also starred in the Fantastic Beasts film and Netflix series The English Game – carried out a further two sexual acts and kissed her on the mouth.

He would stop when Mr Reid would come into the room.

Guthrie refuted the accusations, agreeing with his QC Gordon Jackson that it had instead been a “panic situation” due to the woman’s condition.

However, his DNA was found on the inside of the woman’s underpants.

When questioned by prosecutor Harry Findlay, Guthrie said: “I can’t for the life of me explain in any rational sense how that happened.”