Student perv (20) is tagged
Girl endured terrifying ordeal
A Larkhall student has been tagged and ordered to attend a sex offenders course after putting a young woman he met on Facebook through a terrifying ordeal.
Lewis Sandilands forced himself on the girl in her bedroom, telling her he was “trying to pleasure” her.
The 20-year-old health and social care student groped and strangled her as she tried in vain to push him off.
As he pinned his victim down, the pervert told her he thought it was the sort of thing she’d be into.
But she made it clear she didn’t like what he was doing, Livingston Sheriff Court was told.
Sandilands continued his sexual onslaught, even though the young woman was “ranting at him” demanding to know why he was attacking her.
He eventually collapsed on top of her, put his hand under her lower clothing and touched her intimately before she managed to push him away.
Sandilands pleaded guilty to repeatedly straddling the woman, kissing her on the mouth and giving her an unwanted “love bite” on the neck.
He also admitted putting his hands under her top and groping her breasts before placing his hands around her neck and compressing her throat.
He further admitted unbuttoning her lower clothing, forcing his hand inside and touching her private parts.
Jim Robertson, prosecuting, told the court the accused had befriended the girl on Facebook a year before the attack.
He said she agreed to meet up with him after chatting online about “various mutual interests”.
The couple had a brief relationship, which was ended by text message a few days later.
Despite the split, Sandilands and the girl continued to contact each other by text but he stopped texting her at the end of 2015 and there was no further contact until May 2016.
Then, out of the blue, the woman received a surprise message from Sandilands asking if the relationship was definitely over.
He pestered her to go for lunch with him at Mcdonald’s, and she finally agreed.
The text messages restarted and she eventually invited him to go back with her to her Livingston home.
Shortly after the sexual assault, the girl’s parents arrived home and Sandilands left in a hurry. His victim told her mum what had happened and police were called.
When police spoke to Sandilands the following day he claimed the sexual activity had been consensual but otherwise gave a ‘no comment’ interview.
Mike Bell, defending, said his client was a “naïve and vulnerable young man”.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Peter Hammond told Sandilands he was “immature” and clearly didn’t understand adult relationships.
He placed him on supervision for three years under a community payback order with a requirement he attend the ‘Moving Forward: Making Changes’ course for sex offenders.
The sheriff also imposed a sixmonth restriction of liberty order, confining Sandilands to his Larkhall home between the hours of 7pm and 7am.