Edinburgh sex attacker and former soldier missed court after he was beaten by a mob

A FORMER soldier was viciously beaten by a gang of masked men in a revenge attack after he admitted to sexually assaulting a drunk teenage girl.

Edinburgh sex attacker and former soldier missed court after he was beaten by a mob

Matthew Lindsay, 22, suffered broken ribs and head injuries after five men attacked him just days after he pleaded guilty to the sex assault when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August.

Lindsay had been on a drunken night out with friends and ended up staying at the same Edinburgh flat as the woman in April last year.

The 19-year-old victim, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, was said to be drunk and was put to bed by friends but was later assaulted by Lindsay while she slept.

Beaten in revenge: Matthew Lindsay

The ex-infantryman jumped into the same bed as the teenager and removed both his and her underwear before pressing his penis up against her.

Lindsay, from Craigmillar, Edinburgh, was confronted by a friend of the woman who came in to the room to check on her.

The court was told that he denied any wrongdoing despite the circumstances and claimed: “I never f*****g done anything”.

But after he was reported to the police a subsequent forensic examination ordered by detectives discovered the woman’s DNA on his body.

The brute was due to be sentenced earlier this month but Sheriff Norman McFadyen was told the attacker was absent as he had been hospitalised following his guilty plea after he was targeted in revenge for his crime against the defenceless victim.

This was confirmed by Lily Prais QC, defending, who told the court the assault had been “a revenge attack”.

Lindsay returned to the dock where Sheriff McFadyen told him: “I accept this was, as the social work report suggests, impulsive behaviour where you found yourself in bed alongside your victim.

“Your behaviour, clearly and not surprisingly, had a significant impact on that unwitting victim.”

Lindsay was placed on a supervision order and the Sex Offenders’ Register for 12 months. He was also ordered to carry out 240 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody.

Previously, fiscal depute Jade Doig told the court the woman had been on a night out in Edinburgh with a friend when they met up with a group that included Lindsay and they all ended up back at her flat.

Ms Doig said the woman was drunk and was still wearing her clothes when she was put to bed by the friend and the rest of the group carried on drinking.

Lindsay was invited to stay the night at the flat due to his drunken state and later that night he crept into the same bed as the sleeping teenager.

The court heard during the night Lindsay had removed his and the woman’s clothing before sexually assaulting her while she was unable to give her consent.

Lindsay pleaded guilty to an amended charge of sexually assaulting a woman by removing her clothing and pressing his penis against her body while she was sleeping, intoxicated and incapable of giving consent at an address in Edinburgh, on April 13 last year.

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