A male sex attacker who molested a sleeping teenager amid a flurry of abuse has avoided jail for a second time.
Oliver James Bond, 32, sexually assaulted a boy when he was 15 and 16 years old, and the abuse continued for six years, according to The Times. Bond went by Lucas Cole with "they/them" pronouns in the latest trial that took place at Perth sheriff court.
Bond was found guilty of sexually assaulting the boy in Milnathort between July and December 31, 2010, when the victim was just 15. The report noted that Bond carried out a “serious” sex attack on the victim when he was asleep, incapable of giving consent.
Bond was also found guilty of sexually assaulting the same victim in Kinross between September 2013 and September 2014, in an apparent attack that included Bond grabbing the victim’s genitals. The report stated that the perpetrator struggled with the victim, pulled down his pants and underwear, and then performed a sex act on him.
Bond was found guilty a third time for sexually assaulting the same victim in Milnathort between September 2014 and September 2016, touching the victim’s genitals while they were asleep, incapable of giving consent. However, Bond denied sexually assaulting the victim and claimed that the sex acts were consensual between “friends with benefits.”
The jury only took one hour to find Bond guilty.
Bond, who was called Lucas Cole in the latest trials, changed his identity after being convicted of a separate sex attack on a transgender victim in October 2019, according to The Sun. The perpetrator received 200 hours of unpaid work after being found guilty of sexually assaulting the transgender woman at Bond’s home in May 2018.
Lora Apostalova, who was part of the prosecution, told the Perth Sheriff Court this week that the two incidents were “strikingly similar.” Both of the victims were asleep and incapable of giving or withholding consent. However, Bond was not jailed for his latest crimes.
The latest victim described in court how he had been asleep and awoke to find Bond doing a sex act on him. Instead of sentencing Bond to jail, Sheriff David Hall reportedly put Bond on the sex offender register for five years and under social work supervision for 18 months. The accused was also placed under a curfew for six months and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work as a direct alternative to jail.
The decision came after the lawyer for Bond said that his client would be “particularly vulnerable” in prison.
The sheriff said: “With some hesitation, I am going to allow you to remain at liberty. You were convicted by the jury of all three charges. You just don’t get the seriousness of this matter.”
David Holmes, for the defense, also claimed Bond had spent additional time with the latest victim after the attacks. However, the sheriff said that “doesn’t excuse his behavior, which he doesn’t appear to accept any responsibility for at all. The complainer came across as a pretty vulnerable individual.”
Bond was previously found guilty in 2019 of sexually assaulting a trans-identifying man in a flat in Perth. The victim said that he was sexually assaulted at Bond’s Perth home in May 2018. They described how he and Bond drank a bottle of Midori liquor and watched “The Big Bang Theory '' before the victim fell asleep. The victim said he awoke to find Bond touching his penis.
Bond avoided jail by completing 200 hours of unpaid work at the High Court in Edinburgh on October 21, 2019. The accused was also engaged in offense-related work under the supervision of a social worker.
