Milton Keynes lawyer is convicted of sexually abusing children but has still not been struck off

A lawyer from Milton Keynes has been convicted of sexually abusing two 12 year old girls and raping a woman.

Andrew Lingard denied the offences but was found guilty last week. He is due to be sentenced in August and is likely to face a prison sentence.

The offences were historical and took place between 2007 and 2010, when Lingard was living in Scotland. As a result, his case was heard by the High Court at Livingston.

As a defence, Lingard claimed he was asleep when he committed the offences and was suffering from a rare sleep disorder that made him unaware of what he was doing.

A source for his victims told the Citizen the girls, now grown-up, were furious with the “pathetic” excuse.

"He’ll never show remorse...He will only care what the public think of him,” said the source.

Lingard made an application to be allowed bail but it was refused. He was remanded in custody to a Scottish jail until his sentencing hearing.

But, according to the source, he has already requested to be moved to Woodhill prison or another jail nearer to Milton Keynes so he can be closer to his wife and young child.

"It’s outrageous that this should even be considered,” said the source.

Meanwhile, Lingard is still registered as solicitor on the Law Society of Scotland website. His last employer on the website is listed as the Stonegate Pub Company, which operates 4,800 managed, leased and tenanted pubs in the UK.

Sources say he has more recently been working for a computer company in Milton Keynes.

“He was arrested in 2019 but the case has taken this long to get through the courts,” said one.

The Citizen asked the Law Society of Scotland whether Lingard would be struck off the solictior’s register following his conviction.

Their spokesperson said: “The Law Society of Scotland takes its role as a regulator very seriously. In any case where a solicitor has not met the high professional standards expected of them we will take action.”

They added: “We will consider the verdict of the court and take all necessary steps.”