Sheriff accused of taking part in spanking and whipping session at sauna quits

Nov 23 2008 By Derek Alexander

A SHERIFF has sensationally quit after being accused of paying for spanking and whipping sessions with hookers.

Andrew Lothian stood down after admitting he visited a sleazy sauna.

His shock exit came after a prostitute told the Sunday Mail she was regularly paid s50 to whip him at Carol's in Edinburgh.

She claimed Lothian visited as recently as Wednesday, when he paid s180 for a threesome with her and another girl. Claims about the 66-year-old sheriff first emerged as police investigated the alleged blackmail of a Halifax Bank of Scotland worker.

Two brothers charged with the crimes told officers they had video evidence of the sheriff with the hooker - who has been charged with the same blackmail plot.

It is unclear when Lothian, who earned s125,000 a year, was first challenged about his vice sessions at the sauna in Easter Road, Leith.

But on Friday he was confronted by bosses at a meeting and agreed to quit immediately.

The Crown Office said: "Following allegations that were made on Friday about his private life Sheriff Andrew Lothian made the decision to retire with immediate effect."

The official website of Carol's Sauna describes it as "Edinburgh's best kept secret" and boasts it is run by a "charming local couple".

It adds: "The ladies here at Carol's are a delightful selection and are predominantly Scottish.

"Furthermore, each is keen to show their customers how much they appreciate their custom and will always give cl ients a fantastic welcome!"

Pictures show a series of dingy bedrooms with mirrored walls.

Owner Tom Punton last night said: "I don't want to comment."

The hooker at the centre of the storm, a 30-year-old single mum from nearby Musselburgh, said: "The sheriff liked being whipped more than anything.

"He paid s20 to get into Carol's and he would pay me s50 .

"I first met him two years ago after I started working there.

"The other girls all knew him and they told me he was a sheriff.

"It became a bit of a joke that we would need to get the whip out every time we saw him coming in.

"He sometimes picked me, but he also chose other girls working on the same shift in the sauna.

"I used to ask him if he was on his lunch hour but he was cagey about what he did for a living.

"He didn't realise it was well known among all the girls there.

"One of them had seen him wearing his wig in court but we are told to be discreet and not to ask punters questions they don't want to answer.

"He was actually in on Wednesday.

"He paid s180 for me and another girl.

"He wanted us to put on a show for him then he joined in.

"I know the police were made aware of what he's been up to when they were investigating me and two other men for something else.

"I know the men told the police they had a video of him with other prostitutes but I have never been spoken to by police about the sheriff."

Sauna customers are rarely prosecuted but owners can be convicted of living off immoral earnings.

If he had remained on the bench, Lothian could have faced claims he risked a conflict of interest and left himself open to blackmail.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders police refused to comment.

Sheriffs usually carry on until they are 70, which means Lothian is leaving his job four years early.

Two days after his visit to Carol's he spent his last day in Edinburgh Sheriff Court dealing with drink-driving, assault and fraud cases. He took over from Sheriff Alastair Noble in court five at around 10.30am and handled several cases.

One involved a elderly man who pleaded guilty to obtaining s8000 in benefits to which he was not entitled.

Others included a young woman who admitted punching a girl at a party and a man who admitted being drunk and driving his girlfriend's car without having a licence or insurance.

Lothian was accused in the mid-90s of beating his estranged first wife Harriet in the family home.

In 1999 Harriet went public after she became angry at the Crown Office's refusal to prosecute.

In 200 1it emerged that Lothian used one of his own courts to try to have Harriet evicted from her home in the Borders.

She claimed it was unfair his s100,000 civil action seeking the sale of the house was heard by a colleague of Lothian at Selkirk Sheriff Court, where he sometimes presided.

Lothian was also once investigated by the Inland Revenue.

It was claimed he failed to declare valuable paintings and antiques in order to avoid paying inheritance tax.

The two brothers in the alleged blackmail plot are on remand awaiting trial after making a first appearance at Haddington Sheriff Court.

THE SAUNA

Bosses boast of discretion

SHERIFF Lothian's sauna of choice is one of 20 sex-for-sale parlours across Edinburgh and Leith.

The blue canopies at Carol's mark it out from a row of tenements a corner kick away from Hibernian's Easter Road stadium.

The website lists nine women, aged 21-35, with descriptions and vital statistics. They include Scots, a German and an Asian woman.

It adds: "The emphasis is on both your relaxation and discretion - all our masseuses have their own special techniques.

"Carol's boasts four luxurious massage rooms, all of which are fully mirrored.

"Each cabin also has a television which shows an interesting range of videos."

A customer review posted on the site says: "Carol's is an intimate little sauna on the quiet end of Easter Road, run by a friendly couple in their mid-30s.

The decor has a cosy, IKEA-like quality...surprisingly welcoming."

Although it's an open secret that so-called saunas sell sex, they are licensed by councils in Scotland's major cities.

IS IT LEGAL?

Lawman paid hooker for sex

SHAMED Lothian is not the first member of the judiciary caught in a sex scandal. Sheriff Hugh Neilson, 56, was suspended after he was found wearing just a towel when police raided The Royale Club in Glasgow in 2004.

The married church elder gave the bizarre excuse he was only at the brothel for a shave. But the Sunday Mail revealed he had paid for sex in the past - and he confessed to visiting saunas on four separate occasions.

When quizzed, Neilson, below, told how one girl had rubbed her breasts up and down him and said: "I had sexual intercourse with her. I paid for it."

He resigned from his s119,000-a-year post at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

Later Perth advocate Alan Muir said he too had visited saunas.

He said he had done nothing wrong in taking part in an "upfront commercial transaction between two consenting adults".

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d.alexander@sundaymail.co.uk