Fantastic Beasts actor Kevin Guthrie jailed for 3 years for sexually assaulting actress

Kevin Guthrie, who played Abernathy in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, has been sentenced to three years in prison for sexual assault.

The Glaswegian actor, 33, was found guilty last month of sexually assaulting an actress in September 2017, in what the judge branded a ‘heinous crime’.

At the time of the verdict, he was heard to have cried ‘Why?’ after the jury found him guilty of assaulting a 29-year-old actress as she lay unwell on a bed in an apartment in the city’s west end.

Appearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court today, he reportedly bowed his head as the sentence was read out, before he was led away.

In handing down the sentence, the judge told Guthrie: ‘You were in a position of trust while she was in distress and unwell.

‘This is a heinous crime – you were meant to be looking after her while she wasn’t able to look after herself.’

The court heard the woman was due to meet Guthrie and Scott Reid – who played Methadone Mick in the BBC sitcom Still Game – at a bar on the night of the attack.

Feeling unwell, she was helped to Reid’s home, while he called NHS 24 and left Guthrie in the room to look after her.

Recalling the attack, the woman said Guthrie ‘groped her and performed a sex act on her, but would cover her up again whenever Reid came back in the room’.

The woman, who said Guthrie performed a further two sex acts on her, said: ‘I was unsure of what was happening. I could not believe it was happening.’

After the previous guilty verdict, Sheriff Tom Hughes told the actor (whose DNA was found on the inside of the woman’s pants): ‘Your position stands in contrast to your friend Scott Reid whose actions were highly commendable.

‘He was constantly trying to get help through NHS 24 and did absolutely anything to help her. This must carry a custodial sentence.’

Guthrie – who told jurors the case could be ‘fatal’ for his acting career – claimed the woman was in a ‘panic’ situation, while he also couldn’t explain how his DNA was in her underwear.

Sheriff Hughes said: ‘You had an educational background and worked extremely hard to get a part in acting in acclaimed films.

‘The court must show that women can be protected from domestic sexual offences and those who do should suffer serious consequences.

‘The offence you have been convicted caused distress and consequences to the young woman involved in this case.

‘You committed this crime in a position of trust. She was unwell and thought her drink had been spiked elsewhere that night.

‘The other man was urgently getting medical assistance and you were left in the room with her when she was not able to look after herself.

‘The jury accepted that you committed these heinous crimes and the only appropriate sentence is imprisonment.’

Following the verdict, he was placed on the sex offenders list ‘indefinitely’.