An Edi professor has been found guilty of sexual assault on students

Kevin O'Gorman, an ex-professor at Heriot-Watt University has been found guilty of sexually abusing eight young men whilst working at two different universities.

He has been found guilty of sexual assaults between 2006 and 2014 whilst working at Strathclyde and Heriot-Watt universities. O'Gorman had been the Director of Heriot-Watt's school of management and languages.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told O'Gorman had abused his position to prey on vulnerable students who wished to gain entry to advanced degrees.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court via Geograph

One of O'Gorman's victims said he visited him at his flat and was ordered to remove his trousers and bend over a bed. The victim said he had been whipped at least 10 times which left O'Gorman "out of breath and red faced".

Another victim said that during a Skype call, he was made to stand in a corner and beat himself on the bottom with a wooden spoon.

O'Gorman claimed he did not abuse the students. He also claimed that when ordering a student to stand in the corner, he was using a "mindfulness technique" similar to the one used by Adam Smith, the 18th century economist.

O'Gorman denied a total of 19 charges against 11 young men. On Wednesday, Sheriff Noble acquitted O'Gorman on three of the allegations and convicted him on all other charges.

O'Gorman will be sentenced on 18th September.

Featured image via Geograph