Lewis Ritchie was convicted after a two-day summary trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. The court heard that he sexually assaulted three women. 

At trial it was heard in evidence that Ritchie forced his tongue in one woman’s mouth and demanded that she give him a ‘proper kiss’. The incident took place after an SNP event. 

Another woman who was an employee of his explained that he squeezed past her and touched her buttocks on a number of occasions. She stated that on one occasion he slapped her on the left buttock. Following this he repeated the behaviour. Despite the woman making it clear that she did not consent to this he then slapped her so hard on the buttocks that it left bruising. 

The third victim explained that she was sharing an Airbnb with other women after a political event. Ritchie then invited himself to stay over at the property. He arrived around midnight and was intoxicated. During the night the woman awoke, and he was standing over her. He then stated to her that he wanted to ‘cuddle and sleep’. The woman told the court that she felt ‘violated’ and ‘alarmed’ as a result of his behaviour. 

At sentencing David Nicolson, Advocate stated his client was ‘educated and intelligent’ and that his client was ‘a low risk of sexual reoffending’. 

Sheriff Tait imposed a community payback order as an alternative to custody. Ritchie was placed of the Sex Offenders’ Register and ordered to carry out supervision for a period of two years. He was also sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work to be carried out in the community.