A priest convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping train passenger has lost his appeal against his prison sentence. Father Daniel Doherty, 61, was jailed for 16 months for attacking a younger man on a train between Newcastle and Edinburgh in April 2024. His defence argued that his personal circumstances and health struggles made him suitable for a community payback order instead of prison.

However, the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh rejected this, stating the impact on the victim was severe and life changing. Witnesses saw Doherty assaulting the man, who had passed out from drinking, and police arrested him at Edinburgh’s Waverley station. The court emphasised the premeditated nature of his actions, upholding the original sentence.