Sex assault trial held up after prosecutors struggle with accent

evidence: Officials find man’s Geordie accent too baffling to decipher interview

The trial of a man accused of sexual assault has been held up because prosecutors have been unable to come to terms with his thick Geordie accent.

Dennis Boyd, who is originally from the north east of England, left police officers and The Crown cofuseded by the results of a lengthy interview.

During the interview, he discusses the allegations made against him and it will form an important part of the 38-yearold’s trial.

Perth Sheriff Court has heard, however, that there are huge tranches of evidence missing from the official transcript. It was created from a DVD of the police interview but those responsible for preparing his trial could not cope with Boyd’s manner of speech.

Solicitor Nicky Brown told the court: “My client has a very strong Geordie accent. Unfortunately this means much of the police interview has been unable to be transcribed.

“It is not small parts of the interview. Whole responses are missing. I will have to go through the DVD of the interview with Mr Boyd to fill in the gaps.”

Boyd spoke only to confirm his name during his appearance in the dock, meaning there was no evidence of the issues with his accent.

Nonetheless, Depute Fiscal John Malpass – who has viewed the DVD – confirmed: “There are large tracts of the interview simply missing.”

Sheriff Gillian Wade said she understood the difficulties faced by The Crown but said the matter should have been addressed much earlier.

She allowed the case to be deferred to enable Boyd’s solicitor to view the DVD with her client and fill in the gaps.

Boyd, of Redgorton House, Redgorton, denies a charge alleging that he sexually assaulted a woman in Perth’s Victoria Street on August 29 last year.

He has been ordered to return to court later this week.

Much of the police interview has been unable to be transcribed. SOLICITOR NICKY BROWN