Judge off work pending investigation
BY JAMES MONCUR j.moncur@dailyrecord.co.uk A SHERIFF who is being investigated by police over allegations of sexually inappropriate behaviour towards female colleagues has been suspended.
The Daily Record revealed last week that detectives from the Scottish Crime Campus at Gartcosh, Lanarkshire, are probing claims involving Aberdeenbased sheriff Jack Brown.
A high-level judicial commission set up last year and led by Lockerbie prosecutor Lord Bracadale has been put on hold until the investigation concludes.
No one has been arrested or charged in the probe that was launched on December 12.
Scotland’s judicial office has remained tightlipped since the allegations first surfaced last year.
But yesterday, a spokeswoman confirmed Brown had now been suspended.
She said: “In reply to your inquiry, we can confirm that Sheriff Jack Brown is presently suspended from office.”
Last November, the Record revealed a female prosecutor claimed the 59-year-old had behaved “inappropriately” with her.
The woman did not alert the police and it only came to light after she told a manager who reported it.
She was released from her job and reassigned to another position while Sheriff Brown continued to work in Aberdeen’s courts.
The Daily Record has since learned that up to three more complainers have come forward and that detectives are trying to interview other potential witnesses.
It is understood that the three women also hold senior positions in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
Police Scotland confirmed at the time that a criminal investigation had been launched.
We also revealed a team of Scotland’s top legal bigwigs were being pulled together to look into the claims.
As well as Lord Bracadale acting as prosecutor, the team also involved Sheriff Alistair Duff, the director of the Judicial Institute of Scotland, and Angela Grahame QC, the vice dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Sheriff Brown lives with his second wife near Dundee.
When we asked him about the investigation outside Aberdeen Sheriff Court last November, he said: “I think you will have to go through the judicial office.”