Edinburgh crime: Thugs attacked autistic man with tattoo gun and bottle, Edinburgh Sheriff Court told

They sent horror footage of the attack to friends on Snapchat

Three thugs attacked a vulnerable autistic man by tattooing him and inserting a glass bottle into his anus as he lay sleeping, a court was told last week.

Aaron McLauchlan, 23, and cousins Karly Donald, 23, and Kieran Donald, 24, all savagely targeted their victim during drinking sessions before sending the horror footage to friends on Snapchat. McLauchlan was filmed using a tattoo gun to permanently mark the victim’s right hand while Karly Donald and Kieran Donald were recorded attacking the man with the bottle in November 2021.

McLauchlan and Kieran Donald, both from Gorebridge, Midlothian, pleaded guilty to assaulting the man on separate occasions when they appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Friday. Karly Donald, from Port Seton, East Lothian, was not present in court claiming she is suffering from Covid but defending lawyer Calum Turner lodged a guilty plea to assault on her behalf.

Aaron McLauchlan, 23, and Kieran Donald, 24, admitted the charges against them

Prosecutor Graeme Clark told the court the trio befriended the vulnerable man following the death of his mother and began attending drinking sessions together in houses in Midlothian. Mr Clark said the first incident saw the victim drinking alcohol with McLauchlan and several others at a property in Gorebridge on November 7, 2021.

The court heard the following morning the man woke up and became “aware of tattoos in the form of a black dot on each knuckle of his right hand” which he had no recollection being done. A friend of McLauchlan’s soon received a Snapchat video filmed on that evening showing McLauchlan with “a tattoo gun and [the victim’s hand]”.

The prosecutor said the second attack three weeks later saw the victim, who is in his 30s, fall asleep on a couch after drinking alcohol at a property in Midlothian, Mr Clark said: “At some point during the night Karly Donald and Keiran Donald pulled down [the man’s] trousers while he was lying sleeping face down on a sofa. Karly Donald thereafter held [the man’s] buttock cheeks apart and Kieran Donald inserts the bottle into [the man’s] anus.”

The court was told friends of the two attackers also received Snapchat footage of the shocking incident and Karly Donald later said she carried out the assault “for a laugh”. Mr Clark said the victim subsequently complained of having a sore back and was “struggling to walk” and the three were arrested and charged after police had become aware of the videos.

Lawyers representing the three attackers all said they would reserve their mitigation to the sentencing hearing.

Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC said: “I will certainly require background reports before passing sentence in this case and I will continue this matter. Bail will be continued and you must understand all sentencing options will be before the court.” Sentence on all three was deferred to later this month for social work reports and restriction of liberty order assessments to be prepared.

Aaron McLauchlan pleaded guilty to assaulting the man by tattooing black dots on his hand to his injury and permanent disfigurement at a property in Gorebridge, Midlothian, on November 7, 2021. Karly Donald and Keiran Donald both admitted assaulting the man by removing his clothing and penetrating his anus with a glass bottle to his injury at a property in Midlothian on November 21, 2021.