Accused warned to stop ‘mucking around’ and take court case seriously

A MAN accused of a string of sexual assaults has been ordered to take the case seriously or risk being remanded in custody.

Ian Herridge, from Hillswick, has been warned that he will be locked up if he fails to appear on 1 July, after procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie called on him to be held in custody on Wednesday afternoon.

That came after he failed to show on Wednesday morning, with the court hearing Herridge had also been a no-show on 6 May due to a suspected stroke.

However Mackenzie said he had a “high degree of scepticism” about that claim and said Herridge had been unable to provide medical evidence to the court to prove it.

The 72 year old is accused of various sexual offences against a number of women between 1 January 2019 and 05 April 2025, at a business in the North Mainland.

He is accused of sexually assaulting eight different women during this time period, and of touching the breasts of three of them, among other charges.

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Herridge has pleaded not guilty to all the offences.

Having failed to show up in the morning, Herridge was given a strong rebuke by Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald in the afternoon.

Lerwick Sheriff Court heard that Herridge could not afford to hire defence agent Tommy Allan as his solicitor but also did not qualify for legal aid.

Sheriff MacDonald said Herridge had been repeatedly told that he could not represent himself because vulnerable witnesses would be called.

Eventually the sheriff decided to appoint a solicitor to Herridge on behalf of the court, with Allan agreeing to represent him.

Mackenzie pushed for Herridge to be locked up before his next appearance, citing a string of non-appearances or late attendances.

He said Herridge had phoned the court on 9 July 2025 to say he could not attend that day, and then again on 6 May his son had called to say Herridge was on the way to hospital in an ambulance.

When he appeared on 13 May, Mackenzie said he could provide no evidence that he had been unwell the week prior.

The fiscal said there was a “very real risk” that Herridge would not show up for another appearance, and would instead provide “spurious excuses”.

Sheriff MacDonald said she felt Herridge was “not taking this very seriously” and warned him that – if found guilty – he “could go to jail for a very long time”.

She told him that he needs to show up for his next court appearance otherwise he will be remanded in custody.

“You’ve been mucking around for months, and months, and months,” she told him.

“These are serious charges. If you’re found guilty, you’re in a whole heap of trouble.

“You’ve had your last warning. If you’re unable to attend because you’re unwell, the court will need to see gold standard proof of that.”

Herridge will return to court on 1 July.