Man appears in court in connection with Livingston sex attack

A MAN has appeared in court over the alleged rape of a woman in her own home in Livingston at the weekend.

John McKeown, 22, appeared on petition at Livingston Sheriff Court today in connection with the incident.

He faces charges of abduction, rape, two counts of assualt, attempted murder and breach of the peace.

McKeown, from Livingston, made no plea nor delcaration when he appeared in private and was remanded in custody until his next apearance later this month.

A 39-year-old woman was allegedly raped in the early hours of Saturday morning after a man broke into the home she was staying at.

REPORT: Cara Sulieman

Woman found dealing drugs near East Lothian primary school

A WOMAN was dealing class A drugs near a primary school in East Lothian.

Adelle Mackie, 34, was stopped on the street by the police after they received information that she was selling diamorphine near Wallyford Primary School, East Lothian.

They found 19.4 grams of the drug as well as £166.60 in cash in her handbag and a search of her home the same day led to the discovery of scales covered in traces of diamorphine.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Mackie – from Musselburgh – pled guilty to supplying diamorphine between February 19 and April 13 this year.

Depute fiscal Pauline Shade told the court that another search was carried out of Mackie’s home two months later when 12.5 grams of the drug was also found.

Man assaulted lone 16-year-old employee who was so scared he called his mum

A MAN assaulted a lone 16-year-old employee during a premeditated shop raid, leaving the teen so shaken that he called his mum.

Gordon Steen, 32, from Edinburgh, brandished a knife at Aquib Aslam at the Star Store in Kirkliston and threatened to kill him if he told the police.

Terrified Mr Aslam called his mum as soon as the robbery was over and went to shut up shop.

A female customer who was trying to get in to the shop saw how upset he was and comforted him until his mother arrived.

Drunk driver left victim trapped as he feared getting in trouble

A DRUNK driver who collided with another car left his victim trapped as he fled the scene for fear of “getting into trouble”.

Steven Gardner, 38, from Dalkeith, loss control of the Mercedes he was driving on the A7 Edinburgh to Galashiels road on November 22 last year.

He crashed into Steven Price’s Ford Fiesta at around 7.10pm.

Mr Price pleaded with Gardner to help him out of his car, but he took off down the road on foot and hailed another car, asking the driver to call 999.

Police warn ‘lock doors’ after woman’s two-hour sex ordeal at knifepoint in her own home

POLICE have warned residents to lock their doors and be on their guard after a man held a woman prisoner at knife point in her own home  during a horrific two hour sex attack in West Lothian.

Detectives say the 39-year-old victim has been left “seriously traumatised” by the incident that happened around 5am on Saturday in the Deans area of Livingston.

They said the assailant, described as being around 6ft tall with short dark hair and “chunky” sideburns, may have first tried to get into other homes, even ringing doorbells to do so.

Eventually he gained access to the victim’s home in Oakwood Park through what Lothian and Borders Police described as an unsecured door.

He threatened the woman and others in the house before sexually assaulting her, only fleeing at around 7am.

Police had not yet stated who or what ages the others in the house were during the time of the ordeal.

Prostitute who gave oral sex in cemetery has public indecency conviction quashed

By Cara Sulieman

A PROSTITUTE who gave a customer oral sex in a cemetery has had her conviction for public indecency quashed because there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she had meant to be caught.

Donna Fearn was originally found guilty of an act of public indecency after a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court.

It came after officers found her with a client in the Eastern Cemetery and Necropolis in Dundee on July 11, 2009.

Officers spotted her speaking to a man before crossing the road and entering the graveyard with him.

Man stole £5,500 from his employers through fake cashback transactions

By Cara Sulieman

A MAN who embezzled more than £5,000 from the shop he was in left in charge of by faking cashback transactions has escaped jail.

Richard Humphries, 32, put £50 cashback through the company’s system on credit card payments then pocketed the cash to feed his gambling addiction.

He managed to steal £5,500 before being caught by an auditor who became suspicious of the assistant manager.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court Humphries was sentenced to 160 hours community service after previously pleading guilty to the thefts between August 10, 2009 and May 12 this year.

Man charged with sick sex attack

By Cara Sulieman

A MAN has appeared in court charged with a sick sex attack when he tied up and molested his victim.

Michael Leneghan faces a charge of sexual assault to injury for the incident that is alleged to have taken place on November 11, 2009.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the 60-year-old pled not guilty before Sheriff Mhairi Stephen.

He is accused of binding his victim’s hands with a cord and handcuffs before sexually assaulting her.

Leneghan is due to go on trial for the attack next month.

Man had young boy in car with two kilos of cocaine

By Cara Sulieman

A MAN who was found with two kilos of cocaine in his car boot was driving with a 14 year old in the vehicle when he was stopped by police.

Andrew Logan, 46, was stopped by police on Edinburgh city bypass after they received a tip off about his car.

As soon as he was stopped, Logan confessed to officers and showed them the drugs stashed in a bucket in the boot.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Logan pled guilty to supplying cocaine on June 22 this year.

Man attacked pair at bus stop

By Cara Sulieman

A THUG slashed a man who was sitting a bus stop and demanded money from him, leaving him with stitches.

John Mercer, 20, first approached his victim as he sat with a friend at a bus stop eating a take away.

After the pair refused to give him a cigarette, Mercer retrieved a glass from a nearby bin and slashed Paul Smith across the chin.

Today at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Mercer pled guilty to assaulting Mr Smith to his permanent disfigurement during the incident on August 30 this year.