In 2017, the Offender Database recorded that Vygantas Gadeikis, then 28, a hotelier from Blairgowrie, Perthshire, was jailed for a “terrifying” attempt to abduct two women in Dundee. Appearing at Dundee Sheriff Court, Gadeikis, who ran the Victoria Hotel, was sentenced to two years in prison followed by a year of supervision. The court heard that he attempted to bundle the victims into his wife’s people carrier outside the Dundee University Students’ Union.
The investigation established that on 3 October 2015, Gadeikis drove his wife’s Volkswagen Touran around Dundee while she was on holiday. After leaving a nightclub, he and three friends stopped near Park Wynd. He approached Mhairi Comack and Cherilyn Lawrie, using a request for directions as a ruse. When the women walked away, Gadeikis followed them, grabbed them, and hauled them up a set of stairs. He attempted to shove Ms Comack into the vehicle while another male held Ms Lawrie against the railings to prevent her escape. The ordeal ended only when a passerby was mistaken for the victim’s boyfriend, prompting Gadeikis to release them.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that the victims were in a “vulnerable” state after a night out, a fact Gadeikis—who was sober at the time—deliberately exploited. Dundee Sheriff Court heard that a jury took just one hour to reject his claim that he was merely offering the women a lift because they appeared upset. Sheriff Thomas Hughes noted that it was “lucky” the incident was halted by passers-by before something “worse” happened, describing the defendant’s actions as “totally and utterly unacceptable.”
The judge noted that women have the right to enjoy themselves without the risk of attack and that the court must send a clear message to predators. For his actions in Dundee, Gadeikis was found guilty of assaulting both women by dragging and hauling them toward his vehicle. The judge noted that despite the defendant’s tears in the dock, his refusal to accept responsibility during the trial and his persistence in a false narrative made a custodial sentence inevitable to protect the public in Blairgowrie, Perthshire.
Sentence and Statutory Requirements
For his crimes in Scotland, Vygantas Gadeikis was handed:
- Custodial Sentence: Two years in prison.
- Supervision Requirement: One year of mandatory supervision upon release.
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court following a jury trial and guilty verdicts on two counts of assault.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Gadeikis is managed by Police Scotland and the Criminal Justice Social Work department in Perth and Kinross. Due to the predatory nature of the attempted abduction in Dundee, his management is subject to oversight to ensure the safety of the public and to monitor his behaviour upon his return to Blairgowrie, Perthshire.
As a violent offender, Gadeikis must comply with the conditions of his one-year supervision period following his release from prison. Authorities state that his history of prowling the streets of Dundee in a vehicle to target vulnerable women necessitates strict monitoring of his movements. Any breach of his supervision conditions or further aggressive behaviour will result in immediate arrest and a return to Dundee Sheriff Court.
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