Sheriff accused of sexual harassment ruled unfit for office

Sheriff Jack Brown has been suspended on full pay since December 2018

An Aberdeen sheriff accused of sexual harassment has been ruled unfit for judicial office by a tribunal.

The tribunal said Jack Brown's behaviour towards two women amounted to "serious improper conduct".

It found that he had acted inappropriately towards a lawyer, known as D, in 2018 and another woman in 2001 or 2002.

D's solicitor told BBC Scotland News that his client welcomed the decision.

He added: "She is relieved that this process, which has taken over five years, is finally over and justice has been delivered."

A Scottish government spokesperson said the first minister would now consider whether to remove Mr Brown from judicial office.

Mr Brown has been suspended on full pay since the allegations came to light in 2018.

An earlier fitness for office tribunal found that Mr Brown had acted "entirely inappropriately" towards D.

However, it concluded that his conduct did not meet the test to justify removing him from office

A judicial review subsequently ruled the original tribunal had proceeded in "ignorance of the availability of other evidence".

D said evidence from two other women making similar claims should have been allowed at the tribunal in 2021.

The fresh tribunal heard evidence from D and the two other women known as B and C.

It established that in 2018 Mr Brown touched D on the cheek and made an inappropriate remark to her.

It also found that he hugged her inappropriately causing his face to linger on her shoulder.

The tribunal found that Mr Brown kissed C on the lips in late 2001 or early 2002, and squeezed her buttocks in 2004.

The tribunal said it was not satisfied that an allegation that Mr Brown put his hand inside B's clothing at a party in 1999 and touched her breast had been established.

It said its findings raised "manifest and serious concerns as to the character and integrity" of Mr Brown.

The tribunal's chairman Lord Malcolm said: "They are wholly contrary to the standards of conduct and probity expected of anyone holding judicial office."

Regarding the new evidence heard from C, Lord Malcolm said the tribunal accepted that the passage of time since the assaults on C, and the fact that Mr Brown was not yet a sheriff, were "relevant factors."

He added: "However he was a mature adult at the time.

"The conduct reflects extremely badly on his character and trustworthiness, and if known of would surely have been an impediment to appointment."

Lord Malcolm concluded: "In our unanimous view (Mr Brown's) misbehaviour renders him unfit for judicial office and we report accordingly."

Mr Brown was arrested and charged in relation to the allegations in January 2019, but prosecutors dropped the case three months later.

He was appointed to the sheriffdom of Aberdeen in 2016.

Mr Brown set up his own legal practice in Dundee in 1996, and has been a sheriff since 2005.

An order granting his anonymity in the judicial review hearing was lifted following a successful challenge by BBC Scotland.

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The first minister accepts the tribunal’s findings and, following receipt of its report, is considering removal of the sheriff as a judicial office holder, which must be done by an order laid before Parliament.

"We will update Parliament on this matter as soon as possible.”