A DEPRAVED beast who sexually assaulted an 80-year-old dementia sufferer has walked free from court.
James Beveridge, 70, played the Good Samaritan and escorting the vulnerable pensioner home after discovering her confused and alone.
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But his sick attack in Kelty, Fife, was captured by the victim’s daughter who had installed cameras because of her mum’s illness.
She looked on in horror as Beveridge pulled down his trousers, kissed and groped her mum– and then called the house to order Beveridge to leave.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court, defence solicitor Shona Westwood said that her client was “very remorseful”.
But raging Sheriff Susan Duff interrupted to say: “He’s remorseful that the woman’s daughter installed a camera in her mother’s home and he was caught. That’s what he’s remorseful about.”
The solicitor then said that first offender Beveridge was unaware about the extent of the woman’s condition and her ability to consent.
An angry Sheriff Duff said: “That’s utter nonsense.
“This is a woman who had gone out wandering. He was trusted by her family and his conduct was depraved.”
The solicitor said her client’s marriage was now at an end and he was living in temporary accommodation.
The vile beast, now of Thornton, Fife, tried to then sneak out of court in disguise to escape waiting press.
The court was told the woman suffers from vascular dementia and is looked after in her home by family members.
The condition affects her memory and she can put herself in vulnerable situations by going out of her home when alone.
Just before Christmas 2024, the woman had gone out of her home and was taken back there by Beveridge, who was someone known by the family for many years.
The daughter saw the doorbell video showing her mum being taken back into the house.
She then watched the living room camera, as Beveridge pulled his trousers down to thigh level and kissed the victim.
He then squeezed her breast and pulled up her top.
When the daughter phoned her mum’s home, Beveridge answered it. She told him there was a camera in the room and she was watching what was going on.
She then told him to leave the house and never return.
After the phone call from the daughter, Beveridge is heard saying, “For f*** sake”.