Court / Danish man accused of rape
A TRIAL date for a Danish man accused of raping a woman in Shetland will be set at a later date due to the way the court system is operating during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lasse Larsen’s lawyer John Keenan pled not guilty on behalf of his client when the case was called at Glasgow High Court on Monday.
Larsen was not present for the case.
Thirty year old Larsen is accused of raping a woman at a house in Lerwick on 27 July last year.
The defence solicitor said: “He is resident in Denmark and clearly travel arrangements would have been difficult at this time.”
Both he and prosecutor Greg Farrell told the court they were ready for a trial to be set.
However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was not possible at this stage.
Lady Stacey instead adjourned until a further hearing can take place in September. The judge said: “Hopefully at that date a trial can be fixed.”
Larsen first appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court on 29 July 2019 when he made no plea and was released on bail.
Grant McCabe (Glasgow Courts Press Agency)
Space2face
Space2face Shetland is an independent and confidential service which uses Restorative Justice and the arts to bring those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication. We enable everyone affected by a particular incident to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward.
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