Queen Elizabeth’s cousin jailed for 10 months for sexual assault at Scottish castle
(The AEGIS Alliance) – On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin was put behind bars for 10 months for the crime of sexually assaulting a woman at his family’s ancestral Scotland castle.
34-year-old Simon Bowes-Lyon began the jail sentence after pleading guilty in January to attacking the age 26 visitor lady at Glamis Castle in February of 2020, according to The Guardian.
Bowes-Lyon is known as the Earl of Strathmore and is the son of the Queen’s first cousin.
The victim was assaulted while at a three-day public relations event at the castle that was the Queen’s late mother’s childhood home.
The courtroom previously heard that the victim retired to her personal room while she was drunk prior to Bowes-Lyon persuading her to open her door, he then forced his way into her room at around 1:20 a.m., pushed her onto the bed, and then sexually assaulted her.
Acting judge Sheriff Alastair Carmichael scolded Bowes-Lyon and said “Throughout all of this, she made it clear that she wanted you to stop. She told you repeatedly that she had a boyfriend, repeatedly told you to leave, and repeatedly had to keep pushing you away from her. All of which you ignored.”
He mentioned the 20-minute assault traumatized the victim to the point that she still has nightmares and panic attacks one year later because of it.
“You were the complainer’s host and took advantage of this position,” Carmichael stated.
The acting judge continued, saying “You assaulted her in the face of her repeated verbal and physical protestations that you should stop, and you repeatedly prevented the complainer from getting away from her bedroom and from your unwanted attentions. The amounts of force, aggression, and persistence that you used are concerning.”
He stated imprisonment was warranted because community service or house arrest didn’t match the “gravity of this crime” and “would not adequately deter others who may be tempted to behave in a similar manner.”
After pleading guilty last month, Bowes-Lyon publicly apologized in an announcement outside the courtroom.
“I did not think I was capable of behaving the way I did but have had to face up to it and take responsibility,” The Guardian quoted Simon Bowes-Lyon as saying.
“Over the last year, this has involved seeking and receiving professional help as well as agreeing to plead guilty as quickly as possible.”
Kyle James Lee – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
