A former soldier was viciously beaten by a gang of masked men in a revenge attack after admitting a sex attack on a teenage girl.
Matthew Lindsay was hospitalised with broken ribs and head injuries after five men pounced on him.
The 22-year-old was set upon in the wake of a court appearance in August when he pled guilty to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old.
Lindsay pounced on his victim after she got drunk and was put to bed by pals in an Edinburgh flat.
He admitted assaulting her while she was “asleep, intoxicated and incapable of giving or withholding consent”.
Lindsay was due to be sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last week but the case was adjourned for further reports.
His lawyer Lili Prais told the court: “It was a revenge attack.”
The court heard how, on April 13 last year, Lindsay had been with a pal and her friends – including the victim – at a flat in Leith, Edinburgh.
After the girl had been put to bed, Lindsay went to sleep next to her.
However, his friend became concerned when she saw he had removed his lower clothes.
The sheriff said the court needed to consider a custodial sentence but wanted more information on possible alternatives.
Lindsay was previously put on the sex offenders’ register.
