Fantastic Beasts actor Kevin Guthrie jailed for sex attack on actress

Actor Kevin Guthrie was jailed for three years on Friday after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a vulnerable actress.

Guthrie, who played villainous wizard Abernathy in the first two films in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, was accused of assaulting a 29-year-old woman who had appeared unwell during a night out in Glasgow, Scotland in September 2017.

The Sunshine on Leith actor previously told a trial at the city's sheriff court he "helped" the woman after she fell ill, according to the BBC. However, the victim told the court how he performed sex acts on her after she was helped to bed at fellow actor Scott Reid's flat. The jury heard his DNA was found in her underwear.

She had been due to meet both men at a bar in Glasgow but Reid received a call from a taxi driver requesting he collect her as she had fallen ill. They then put her to bed, with the court hearing that Reid called a National Health Service helpline while Guthrie remained in the room with her "to make sure she was OK".

Describing the assault, the woman told the court: "I remember my top being lifted up and my bra being held down."

The 33-year-old groped her, performed sex acts and kissed her on the mouth - stopping when Reid returned to the room.

After a jury convicted the star, Sheriff Tom Hughes said he had taken advantage of the "vulnerable" woman. He praised Reid for trying to get her medical help.

He told Guthrie: "You were in a position of trust while she was in distress and unwell. This is a heinous crime - you were meant to be looking after her while she wasn't able to look after herself."

The disgraced actor has been sentenced to three years in jail and will be placed on Britain's sex offenders register indefinitely.