A man who sent threatening and abusive messages to former Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson has been sentenced to a 50-day curfew.
Reece Cuthbert, 26, previously admitted using Facebook to send the offensive messages directed at the ex-Tory MP on July 13 2019.
Cuthbert, of Haddington Avenue in Dundee, pleaded guilty to sending “grossly offensive” messages of “indecent, obscene or menacing character”.
He previously failed to appear for sentencing after claiming he had to isolate due to Covid concerns.
The former Ninewells Hospital worker had been on a structured deferred sentence, under orders to behave himself and comply with a further social work report.
Previous jail time
Cuthbert was previously jailed in January after he attacked two police officers with their own pepper spray while resisting arrest in Dundee.
Cuthbert’s latest victim of crime, Mr Thomson served his constituency between June 2017 and November 2019 but did not seek re-election in the 2019 General Election.
It followed sexual misconduct allegations against him, although he was later cleared by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in October 2020.
At the time, Mr Thomson said: “From the start of this ordeal, I maintained that I was the victim of a smear, and the 19-month investigation clearly showed this to be the case.
“I complied fully with the investigation at every stage, even when it meant I could not defend myself publicly against damaging, distressing and false accusations.
“The last two years have been a living hell, with these false allegations triggering a barrage of unfair headlines and unrelenting abuse on the street and online.
“I was forced to give up the job I loved, making myself and my office staff unemployed.
“Furthermore, my reputation has been irreparably damaged by these lies.”
Thomson cleared of misconduct
The Independent Expert Panel, which determines appeals and sanctions in cases where complaints have been brought against MPs, later rejected an appeal against the investigation’s findings.
It dismissed the appeal and said in a report: “We have considered each of the Reporter’s five grounds of appeal with some care.
“In our judgment there is no merit in any of the grounds.
“We therefore do not accept that there are any valid grounds for an appeal.”
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