Police officer assaulted four women at awards bash

A police officer sexually assaulted four women on the night he was hailed for being a hero.

David Jones repeatedly groped them on the dancefloor at the Scottish First Aid awards bash at Glasgow's Radisson Blu hotel on March 31 2023.

The women were a firefighter, a swimming instructor, her sister, and a paramedic student.

The married 36-year-old constable - based in Auchterarder in Perthshire - and three colleagues had earlier been recognised for what was described as “heroic acts of bravery”.

They had to deal with a mentally ill, knife wielding man - who had also self harmed - while responding to reports of a gas leak in Edinburgh.

Vital first aid was provided while still managing to evacuate the area from any danger before back-up arrived.

Jones and his fellow officers collected the event’s Chairperson’s Award for their efforts.

But, his six-and-a-half year career faces ruin after he was found guilty following a trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

He was found not guilty of a further three sexual assault allegations against a politics student, a lab assistant and an ambulance worker.

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre said: "The incidents were linked in character, circumstance and time of the commission of the conduct systematically pursued by you.

"The witnesses told the truth in their account of your conduct.

"I reject that they were lying or mistaken.

"I have scarcely seen more credible witnesses and I found them persuasive, compelling and each corroborated one another."

The 23-year-old paramedic student told the court: "There was a man who just happened to win an award that night who kept trying to dance with me.

"I brushed it off, but he kept following me as if he was thirsty for my attention.

"At first he grinded on me which made me feel uncomfortable."

The woman claimed that Jones then followed her, grabbed her by the hand then spun her around.

She said: "At first it was over my clothes he tried to grab my breast."

The witness went on to say Jones put his hand under her dress.

Prosecutor Abbas Ali asked her how it made her feel.

The woman replied: "Dirty." She told the trial she has been left suffering from PTSD.

The 30-year-old firefighter stated she had been on the dancefloor with colleagues at the bash.

The woman recalled: "I felt a distinctive bump on my back then a grab on my bum."

The woman described it as a "grope" and a "squeeze."

The 23 year-old swimming instructor meantime told of an "uncomfortable interaction" with a stranger who groped her breast.

She said: "I told him to get away from me." The man remained "lingering" near her group - before then pawing at her sister.

The sibling said she was "grabbed more vigorously" leaving her "uncomfortable and intimidated".

The witness: "I was disappointed someone would do that at an event where we were there to enjoy as volunteers from charity."

The 21-year-old politics student claimed that a man smacked her on the bottom on the dance floor.

Mr Ali asked the witness how she felt and she replied: “I was quite taken aback. I was frustrated and annoyed."

The 32-year-old ambulance service worker claimed she was dancing with friends when a man put his arm around her shoulder before moving to her waist.

She stated she recognised him from when he had collected an award that evening.

This woman added: "Then his hand moved further past my hip on to my bum at that time."

The 29-year-old lab assistant claimed that called her alleged attacker was "quite predatory" on the dancefloor.

She said: "He approached me and tried to grab my waist and I pushed my hands off and told him to get away."

Security guard Evan Alexander, 28, told the court that he ejected an "intoxicated" Jones after being spotted encroaching the personal space of others.

Jones stated in his evidence that he "potentially" came into physical contact with the women on the dancefloor.

He told his lawyer Christopher Shaw he would have stopped dancing with them had they refused.

Jones insisted he "did not know why" he had been kicked out the bash at the end of the evening.

He accepted he may have apologised to the one of the women, but that the females were "mistaken by thinking it was something it was not".

Jones was put on the sex offenders list. He will be sentenced next month and was granted bail meantime.

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