Sunday 1 November 2026
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Police officer goes on trial over rape and sexual assault charges

Content warning: This story contains details of sexual assault allegations. If you have been affected by this issue, help is available.

A WOMAN has told Edinburgh High Court that she was too intoxicated to consent to sex with a police officer in Shetland after a wedding.

The woman told the court today (Monday) that she had been drinking very heavily and did not feel “truly in control of my actions” when she had sex with Carmichael John Williamson outside of a hall during the event.

She said further sex took place with Williamson at a house, including an act which she described as “very aggressive”. She said she was also slapped.

Williamson, 32, was a police officer and at one stage was an acting sergeant in Lerwick.

The woman said that a lot of her memories from the evening were “hazy”, and that she was too intoxicated to have given consent.

Williamson has denied a series of charges at his trial, including an allegation that he assaulted and raped the woman in April 2022 at locations in Shetland while she was intoxicated and unable to provide consent.

He is further accused of raping her in August 2020 at a different location in Shetland and of sexually assaulting her.

He is alleged to have sent naked images of her to another man in December 2021.

Williamson, of Burra, has also denied assaulting and raping a teenage girl on an occasion between April 2014 and October 2015 at an address in Lerwick.

He is also accused of having sexual activity with the girl when she was underage and communicating indecently with her by sending her intimate photographs and requesting she send him intimate images in 2014.

He is further alleged to have committed the offence of voyeurism by recording video footage of her while he carried out a sex act on her at a location in Shetland.

The trial continues.

Copy by Dave Finlay of Edinburgh Courts Press Services

If you have been affected by crime, help is available. Whether you are victim, a witness, or the accused, you can find independent, impartial, and confidential support in Shetland.

For victims of general crime:

For anyone affected by crime & harm seeking a restorative approach:

For anyone affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, coercive control, stalking, sexual assault, and rape:

Shetland Women’s Aid

Phone: 01595 692070
Web: https://www.shetlandwa.org
Email: office@shetlandwa.org

The Compass Centre (Shetland Rape Crisis)

Phone: 01595 747174 or 08088 010302
Web: https://www.compasscentre.org
Email: contact@compasscentre.org

For anyone affected by substance use:

Shetland Recovery Hub and Community Network

Phone: 01595 744402
Web: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075791869200
Email: recoveryhub@shetland.gov.uk

Shetland Alcohol & Drug Partnership

Phone: 01595 743060 or 07342 077789
Web: https://shetlandadp.org.uk
Email: shet.sadp@nhs.scot

Substance Use Recovery Service

Phone: 01595 743006

 
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