BOXER FOUND GUILTY OF ‘FIRST DATE’ SEX ASSAULT ON ABERDEEN STUDENT
Danny Jay Milnes, aged 24, was standing trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, charged with sexually assaulting a woman in the women's restroom of The Snuggery pub on Market Street.The prosecution argued that the assault occurred while the woman was intoxicated and unable to consent.
Jurors viewed footage from the incident, as well as additional CCTV recordings from later that evening, showing Milnes trying and failing to book rooms at various hotels.
After less than two hours of deliberation, the jury reached a majority verdict, finding Milnes guilty of the charges.
As the verdict was handed down, Sheriff William Summers granted Milnes bail but told him that he “shouldn’t read anything into that”.
“The jury has convicted you of a very serious offence and the very real possibility is that a custodial sentence will be imposed.” As Milnes glared at the jury, Sheriff Summers also made him subject to the sex offenders register.
During the trial, jurors were shown footage from the pair’s first date, where the young woman is seen staggering and struggling to keep her feet at the rear of the Snuggery pub before Milnes takes her through a set of double doors and into the female toilets.
The 20-year-old student said she was then sexually assaulted in a toilet cubicle by Milnes.
Following this, the pair then leave, and go to three hotels – the Station Hotel, the Douglas Hotel and the Ibis Hotel on Shiprow.
The jury was told that the student believed Milnes was going to ask the hotel reception to call her a taxi.
However, at all three hotels, Milnes attempted to book a room for them.
Each hotel refused to take the booking.
At around 1.10am at the Ibis Hotel, the woman uses the bathroom and appears to sober up significantly.
She can then be seen dashing through reception, away from Milnes, and out of the front door of the hotel.
Pursued by Milnes, she is then seen on CCTV, highly upset, pushing him off her and trying to walk away from him.
Milnes is captured by police CCTV operators following the woman for nearly half an hour up King Street until police officers intervene.
Police constable Aleksandra Jaworska gave evidence and told the jury the woman was “distressed and very upset”.
“She was literally shaking and she was panicked,” she said, adding that the woman was “just making noises because she was crying so hard” and took around 10 minutes to regain her composure.
Asked how she appeared, PC Jaworska said the young woman seemed “quite intoxicated”.
“She said that she had met [Milnes] and they had gone for a few drinks, she told me she started to feel uncomfortable in his company and she just wanted to go home.” Days later, it was understood that the student then approached a staff member at Aberdeen University to inform them about the assault, and they contacted the police.
Milnes, of Don Street, Aberdeen, will return for sentence on March 11 2026.
