Moray man (71) James Farquhar jailed for sexually assaulting woman he met at bus station

A 71-year-old sex offender who bought alcohol for a woman he met at a bus station before assaulting her has been jailed.

Portgordon man James Farquhar, described as an Inverness prisoner, was on a court order not to be in the unsupervised company of women. This was imposed after Farquhar was originally jailed for 18 months at Elgin Sheriff Court in 2012 for other sex offences.

Fiscal depute Susan Love told Inverness Sheriff Court that Farquhar had met the woman at Elgin bus station and travelled with her to Forres.

The court heard that, during the journey and despite her protests, Farquhar repeatedly touched the woman on her leg, kissed her and put his arm round her.

However the woman, who is not from Moray and can’t be named for legal reasons, then accompanied Farquhar to several licensed premises in Forres.

There he continued to touch her on the legs, buttocks and arms.

Farquhar then told the woman that she would only be allowed to leave when he gave his permission.

However, bar staff intervened to ensure that she could get away. Other customers then prevented Farquhar from following her.

Later that day, Farquhar touched the hand of a female supermarket worker as police went looking for him after receiving a report about the incident in the bar.

Defence solicitor Mike Chapman said: "He acted in a way he should not have. It will not come as a surprise to the court that quite a lot of alcohol had been consumed by both."

The offence occurred shortly after Farquhar had been released from prison on licence, following an incident at an Egin bar during 2022 which involve another woman.

Sentencing Farquhar for his latest offence, Sheriff Sarah Matheson jailed him for 30 months, backdating his prison term to September 25, 2023 – the date he was remanded in custody.