Victims of a Dumfries osteomyologist who avoided a prison sentence for sexually assaulting them have lodged formal complaints against the sheriff who presided over the court case and the procurator fiscal.
James Stewart Kyle, 62, was placed on the sex offenders register in September and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work after he was found guilty of a string of charges following a trial at Stranraer Sheriff Court.
Kyle had pleaded not guilty to abusing his position of trust and sexually assaulting four female clients, three at his clinic at Penninghame near Newton Stewart and one at a beauty salon in Dumfries.
But he was found guilty of five charges – four of sexual assault and one of a breach of the peace.
He abused one woman on various occasions between December 1, 2010 and January 1, 2014 at the Kyle Clinic in Penninghame.
Kyle sexually assaulted two other women at the clinic – one between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 by touching her private areas and himself in front of her, before placing his hands inside her mouth.
He assaulted the third woman at the clinic on June 26, 2017.
The fourth woman was abused at the Mary Jeffrey Beauty Salon in Assembly Street, Dumfries, on June 9, 2020.
He was also convicted of a breach of the peace by touching a woman in an inappropriate manner and making comments to her about her looks at the Range store in Dumfries on July 7, 2019.
As well as the 300 hours of unpaid work, he was ordered to take part in the Making Changes programme and remain within his address between the hours of 7pm and 7am. He has been banned from practising as an osteomyologist.
His victims were left “devastated” by the outcome and said it felt like a “huge slap in the face”.
Following the sentencing, Sheriff Anthony McGlennan thanked the defence solicitor but failed to mention the victims despite the trauma they faced giving evidence.
They have now made a formal complaint to the Lord President and the Lord Advocate about the sheriff and the procurator fiscal.
Former Stranraer and the Rhins councillor Ros Surtees has supported the victims and said: “At the end of the case, the sheriff thanked the defence solicitor but failed to mention the victims or the police for the work they did in pursuing Kyle.
“The victims found that incredibly scary. What happened to them has ruined their lives and there was no acknowledgement of that.
“We felt it was necessary to complain because those comments are not going to encourage any other victims to come forward.”
The complaint against the procurator fiscal claims she failed to tell the victims they had a right to appeal the sentence.
Ms Surtees said: “One of the roles of the procurator fiscal is to support victims but she didn’t tell them they could appeal the sentence. They only found out two days before the deadline that they could.
“We also want to know why this case wasn’t heard before a jury and was reduced to a summary trial.
“We all know a prison sentence isn’t always the right thing to do but the way this case has been handled will not encourage other victims of sexual assault to come forward.”
The victims are expecting a response to the complaints imminently.
“If it’s not the positive outcome we’re hoping for, we won’t just give up.”
