INVERNESS SHERIFF COURT ROUND-UP: Child sexually assaulted in Tescos, siege sparks demand for helicopter, and teenager with child porn
Inverness Sheriff Court saw a huge mix of criminal business so far this week.
Here's our recap of some of the cases that made the headlines.
Inverness man who sexually assaulted a child in a supermarket
A man who sexually assaulted a child in an Inverness supermarket has been placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for three years.
Cody Grassick (18) touched the young girl inappropriately while she was looking at Christmas jumpers at Tesco Inshes on November 30, 2023.
The girl, who was under 13 at the time, was very scared after the incident, Inverness Sheriff Court was told, and pulled his hand away.
Man demanded helicopter ride to London while holding Highland hostage
A HOSTAGE was held at knifepoint during an hours long siege in Easter Ross which required armed police and specialist officers from the Central Belt being called to the scene.
Inverness Sheriff Court heard that there was concern that Patrick Muldoon may also have had a firearm as the drama unfolded on the evening of November 15 last year at a property in Westford, Alness.
Muldoon, who threatened to kill his girlfriend, Lynda Love, and police as well as his hostage, Liam Stewart, also demanded a helicopter to fly him to London before the stand-off ended at 5.05am.
Inverness chef slapped man in error over ‘assault’
A hotel chef thought he had encountered a man who had just assaulted his wife and slapped the "assailant".
But Inverness Sheriff Court was told by fiscal depute Shay Traynor that 22-year-old Jack Horne, of St Valery Park, Inverness, had "got the wrong end of the stick".
Sheriff Robert Frazer heard that the victim was in fact the partner of the woman and had received a phone call from her to come to Lombard Street on August 4 last year to find her on the ground.
A sex pest was told by a sheriff watching pornography was giving him "a warped view" of relationships between men and women.
Codey Masson targeted five teenage women and an underage girl over a four-year period and demanded nude photos and sent explicit images to them uninvited.
The 28-year-old, of Ord View Brae, Nairn, was appearing for sentence at Inverness Sheriff Court after previously admitting a previous conviction for a similar type sex offence committed during the same time frame of August 2015 to August 2019.
Former Inverness church relief organist had photos of girls in states of undress on bedroom shelf
A former Inverness church relief organist who was twice jailed for possessing vast amounts of indecent images and videos of children being abused or in sexual poses has admitted having similar photos displayed on a shelf in his bedroom.
Iain McIntyre (52), of Nelson Street, Inverness but who formerly stayed in Tain's Mansfield Estate, appeared before Sheriff Sara Matheson and pleaded guilty to possessing a total of 15 printed photos on January 10 last year.
Highland teenager ‘addicted to porn’ warned by sheriff to get bag ready for detention
A Black Isle teenager “addicted to porn” was warned to take a bag with him for his next court appearance as he is likely to be sent to detention.
A shocked sheriff heard how videos and still images of children and babies being abused - including one of an infant being sodomised - were found in the 18-year-old’s possession.
Sheriff Sara Matheson heard that Calum Simpson of Muirton Road, Tore, was "addicted" to pornography from a young age but had no attraction to children.
