Iain Robertson, the actor known for playing Stevie O'Hara on the BBC soap River City, has been jailed for nine years after being convicted of raping one woman and assaulting others.
Sentencing and charges
Robertson, 45, from Carbeth, Stirlingshire, was found guilty of five offences against three women between 2004 and 2019 following a trial last month. He had denied all eight charges, which spanned from 2004 to 2020.
The sentence was handed down by judge Lady Drummond at Edinburgh High Court. Robertson appeared via video link from prison and gave no reaction as the sentence was delivered. In addition to the prison term, he was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and made subject to indefinite non-harassment orders. He will also be supervised for a further three years after his release.
Testimony from the victim
On the opening day of the trial, jurors heard pre-recorded testimony from the woman Robertson raped in 2018 and 2019. The two originally met while working together on River City and became friends. The 36-year-old woman said she did not want anything sexual to happen. The court heard that they later became more intimate, but the woman recalled conversations with Robertson about returning to a platonic relationship, which she told the court he 'agreed' to. She described the conversation as 'a long back and forth' and stated that Robertson 'did not believe' her when she denied having feelings for him. She also said she felt her 'boundaries were being ignored'.
The court heard she was at his then home in Glasgow and had planned to sleep on the sofa. Robertson allegedly told her she could join him in bed as 'nothing would happen.' However, the witness told prosecutor John Keenan KC that the actor 'had sex' with her instead. Asked whether she was participating, the witness replied 'no' and said she did not want it to happen. When asked how Robertson would have known this, the woman added: 'From the many conversations and my unresponsiveness.'
