A jury has cleared an Aberdeen man accused of raping two women in the city, but still convicted him of domestic abuse and stalking.
Paul Stewart faced multiple charges when he went on trial over four days at the High Court in Aberdeen earlier this week.
He denied all the charges, also claiming any sex with the women was consensual, and even chose to give evidence to accuse his alleged victims of “conspiring against him”.
The jury later returned two “not proven” verdicts for the most severe sexual offences, acquitting him of those.
Stewart, 27, of Kincorth Land, Aberdeen, wept as he left the dock, following the outcome of his criminal court case.
Stewart was accused of using the threat of social workers to blackmail her into sex
During proceedings, Stewart was accused of raping both women by using coercive methods.
The court was told that Stewart had blackmailed one of them into giving him sexual favours in return for not reporting her “dirty” living conditions to social workers.
It had also been alleged that one of the women was forced to have sex with Stewart inside his car at a lay-by.
Stewart’s defence agent, Gareth Reid, asked his client if the allegation was true.
“I don’t see how that would be possible,” he replied, adding: “There’s not enough room.”
It was put to Stewart that he had forced one of the women to perform oral sex on him.
The accused responded: “No, it is not something I like.”
Next, Mr Reid asked Stewart if he had forced the woman to masturbate him, to which he answered: “Again, no, it’s not something I like.”
When the accused was quizzed on whether he had forced one woman to have sex with him one week after she had given birth, he replied: “No, that’s not true. You need time to heal after having a baby.”
Stewart was convicted of domestic abuse by harassing the woman and “bombarding” her with text messages, conceding under oath that the number of messages he sent was “excessive”.
The woman’s mother also gave evidence.
Jurors heard she had taken her daughter’s phone away because Stewart was “inundating” her with messages.
The witness added that the situation had been “disturbing” to watch.
Eventually, the daughter moved from a women’s refuge into her mum’s home to live with her, the court was told.
Jury told ‘sexual predator was trying to elicit sympathy in the witness box’
Under cross-examination by the prosecutor, advocate depute Alistair Murray, Stewart said he thought the women were conspiring against him and had made up the rape allegations.
In summing up, Mr Murray urged the jury – made up of two women and thirteen men – to convict Stewart on two charges of rape, and also one charge of domestic abuse and another of stalking or harassment.
The prosecutor said Stewart had bombarded the women with messages and was “quite simply a sexual predator”.
“He told her if she did not have sex with him, he would contact social work and send them pictures of her house,” Mr Murray explained.
“In hindsight, she was a vulnerable girl who was terrified of losing her child. She conceded to his blackmail.
“He was trying to elicit your sympathy in the witness box, suggesting they had fabricated evidence … It does not add up.”
‘Convicted of two matters which are by no means insignificant’
The jury took just over an hour to find the rape charges against Stewart were “not proven”.
However, jurors did find Stewart guilty by majority verdicts of the charges concerning domestic abuse, stalking, and controlling behaviour.
Stewart was convicted of controlling one woman by isolating her from her friends and family, seizing her by the neck, pinning her against a wall, and brandishing a knife at her.
He was further convicted of monitoring and controlling the movements of another woman, and repeatedly and excessively contacting her on text messages and social media platforms.
Judge Graham Buchanan spoke to Stewart after hearing the verdict.
He told him: “You have been convicted of two matters which are by no means insignificant.
“They both involve matters involving domestic abuse. That is a matter which the court does take a very serious view on.
“However, you have been acquitted of the two more serious charges.”
Judge Buchanan deferred sentencing Stewart until background reports on him are produced.
He released Stewart on bail, ordering him to return to court next month.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.