Tuesday court round-up — 'Silly, stupid' offender and restaurant attack

A mechanic lost his job and licence for failing to provide Dundee police with a breath sample after being suspected of drink-driving.

Blane Speak was described as “silly” and “stupid” for failing to comply with the legal requirement of officers who pulled him over on August 29 in the Lochee Road and Brewery Lane area in the early hours of the morning.

He failed a roadside breath test, with Dundee Sheriff Court hearing how officers could smell alcohol and noticed hiss speech was impaired.

Prosecutor Katie Halliwell said Speak refused to give another sample once at the West Bell Street headquarters.

He said: “I don’t feel comfortable.”

The 25-year-old, of Provost Road, pled guilty to failing to provide a sample and solicitor Doug McConnell revealed his client resigned from his job as a mechanic.

Mr McConnell said: “He wanted to speak to a solicitor before he could complete the test.

“He had taken drink and Mr Speak admits that himself. It’s quite a harsh lesson – he’s lost his driving, he’s lost his job.

“He was silly, he was stupid and needs to learn more about matters.”

Sheriff David Nicolson KC disqualified Speak from driving for 12 months and fined him £320.

Jailed for a decade

Fife man John Houston has been jailed for a decade for sex attacks on a pair of women. Houston, 39, preyed on his victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at locations in Leven between July 2020 and September 2023.

Restaurant rape

A sex attacker raped a 14-year-old girl in the toilet of a Nando’s restaurant in Fife after lying about his age.

Liam Burns was 20 at the time – March 2022 – but claimed he was 18, having met the victim online.

He later confessed to her on social media what he had done, admitting he was “disgusting”.

Burns pled guilty to rape at the High Court in Glasgow and will be sentenced next month.

The court heard the pair had been exchanging messages before Burns suggested they meet in person and they went to Nando’s.

Burns pestered her to go into the toilets with him. She did not want to but walked with him towards where it was.

Burns ushered her into a cubicle, locked the door, exposed himself and then raped the teenager, calling her vile names.

Prosecutor Graeme Jessop KC said: “The incident came to an end when a waitress had become suspicious about their length of absence from the restaurant table.”

She found the pair and the girl claimed she was “okay” but later said she felt “distressed and humiliated”.

Mr Jessop said: “She did not want him to do these sexual things to her but she felt she had no choice once in the cubicle.”

The pair remained in contact and Burns again persuaded her to meet elsewhere in Fife.

He went on to slap her face, spit on her and make “sexual advances”, inappropriately touch her and try to have sex with her, despite her pleading with him to stop.

Burns was later confronted by another person about what he had done and stated he “knew” she was only 14 and confessed he had “raped” her.

On Facebook he stated to her: “I am sorry for what I did to you. I took advantage of you and made you feel vulnerable when that was wrong for me to do.

“In truth I was 20. It is disgusting what I done.”

Burns also pled guilty to the attempted rape of this teenager and a further sex offence involving another girl.

Dessert parlour boss jailed

A predatory dessert shop boss from Dundee, convicted of raping a schoolgirl in his work van, has been jailed. Veron Galmangoda Guruge De Silva ran the Caramel Express in Perth’s South Methven Street.

Cosh

A Fife man has been sentenced to unpaid work after being caught with an improvised cosh in HMP Perth.

Ahead of a trial scheduled to take place at Perth Sheriff Court, Jordan McGauchie pled guilty to possessing the weapon in custody on August 23, 2024.

Within the Edinburgh Road jail he had an improvised cosh consisting of pool balls within a sock.

Sheriff William Wood ordered the 31-year-old, who hails from the Buckhaven area, to complete 135 hours of unpaid work within the next six months.

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