A trade union boss who was convicted of a series of sexual assaults on a woman has avoided a jail sentence.

Gerry Crawley, a regional organizer for Unison, was found guilty of sexually assaulting the woman on multiple occasions between 2016 and 2018. The assaults included an incident where Crawley, wearing a dress and French knickers, performed a sex act in front of the woman at her home.

The court heard that Crawley, a former Labour councillor, had denied all charges. However, Sheriff Thomas Millar found him guilty after studying background reports.

Crawley was sentenced to 12 months of social work supervision and will be placed on the sex offenders' register for the same period.

The victim, now 37, described the incident at her home, saying Crawley visited while she was alone and asked to see her pants. She said he then showed her his own pants, which were white French knickers, and asked her to touch them. When she refused, Crawley performed a sex act in front of her, leaving her feeling "shocked, frightened and panicked."

The woman also described an incident at a bar in Glasgow on the day of the Scottish Cup final in 2017, where Crawley put his hand down her pants while they were talking to football fans.

In his defense, Crawley claimed that the assaults did not occur and that he had a consensual relationship with the woman. However, the court heard evidence from Crawley's daughter that he had confessed to having an "inappropriate" relationship with the woman.

Sheriff Millar stated that it appeared the woman had "accommodated your interests" to a certain extent, but added that "She said she was not comfortable and I accept there were other incidents that went beyond what she was prepared to consent to."