Rape charges against Langlees man found not proven

Sean Simpson shrieked as the first verdict was pronounced before bursting into tears and burying his face in his hands at the High Court in Livingston.

He only calmed down after Judge John Morris, KC, told him: “I’m sorry, but if you can’t control yourself, please leave the court.”

Simpson had denied raping the same woman three times – twice while she was allegedly intoxicated and unconscious and incapable of giving or withholding consent and once while she was awake.

The woman, now aged 34, gave evidence that Simpson was her friend before the alleged sex attacks in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and stated she wasn’t sexually attracted to him.

The mum of one said she strongly suspected that Simpson had twice had sex with her while she was heavily intoxicated and asleep because she had memories of waking up and finding him on top of her.

She said she finally reported three separate incidents to the police following a third alleged rape while she was fully awake after she said she had repeatedly refused sex.

Within an hour of Simpson leaving her home in Stirlingshire after the third incident in March 2021 she messaged a close friend to tell her: “Sean raped me last night. This isn’t the first time he’s done this to me. I’m so numb, man.”

Simpson, 31, an unemployed cobbler from Langlees, denied three counts of raping the woman between January 1, 2019 and March 28, 2021.

He lodged special defences admitting that he had intercourse with the complainer but claiming she had consented to sex on each occasion.

Giving evidence in his own defence, Simpson confirmed that he’d had sex with the woman on three separate occasions but insisted she had been awake and consenting each time.

He said that they had both been drinking alcohol and taking drugs like cocaine and CB2 – a kind of Ecstasy/LSD pill – but she hadn’t seemed intoxicated. He claimed he remembered clearly what had happened on each occasion and that she had never objected or asked him to stop.

The jury took just one hour to return majority verdicts finding the charges not proven.

Judge Morris formally acquitted the accused and told him he was free to go.

Simpson hugged family members in relief before leaving the court.