Woman who had threesome then cried rape unable to find lawyer

Hannah McWhirter, 21, was meant to be sentenced at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for wasting police time.

She previously admitted lying to police that she had been sexually assaulted by her boyfriend after he discovered she had been unfaithful.

But her lawyer Sam Milligan stopped acting for her last month and she had been unable to find someone to take her case on since then.

Previously, the court heard that Ms McWhirter told social workers she was innocent after pleading guilty, prompting Mr Milligan to refuse to act for her.

Sheriff Graham Buchanan told her she ought to be represented in what he called an “extremely serious matter”.

He said: “I had thought that what might have happened today is that the accused would have come along with a new solicitor and I had fully anticipated that there might have been an application made to allow the accused’s guilty plea to be withdrawn.”

He added it was “highly unlikely” that any such application would be granted but noted that it was her right to have a solicitor make that motion on her behalf.

The case has been continued for another fortnight to allow her time to find a lawyer. In the event the application is granted she will go on trial.

Ms McWhirter admitted to lying to the police and accusing a married couple, Dione and Shaun Clark of sexually assaulting her.

The pair were detained for hours, questioned under caution and kept under investigation for a month.

Mrs Clark and Ms McWhirter, the court heard, were close friends. Ms McWhirter had sex with the couple in a hotel in July 2013 while her boyfriend was elsewhere.

After the friendship deteriorated, Mr Clark, 30, told Ms McWhirter’s boyfriend about the threesome.

She then went to the police claiming she had been raped.