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Daily Maverick
18-05-2025
- Daily Maverick
Remote Scottish lodge reveals dark secrets: human trafficking and violence uncovered in court ruling
In February 2025 a Scottish court banned a man from leaving the UK after it was found his alleged conduct over several years relating to certain women was 'utterly harrowing'. South Africa features in this case. Lochdhu Lodge in Caithness, Scotland, is not accessible by public transport. Based on images online, trees and a body of water are positioned around the imposing property. Somewhere inside the remote premises are a trapdoor and 60m curved concrete tunnel leading to a chamber. According to Scotland's Wick Sheriff Court, this chamber 'consists of several areas, containing, inter alia, an empty coffin, life-size ancient Egyptian figures and a metal bench'. A judgment by the court in a civil matter, dated 1 February, states that the man who resides at the lodge, Kevin Booth, 'on numerous occasions, over many years, at Lochdhu Lodge and elsewhere, violently whips women and girls, causing them obvious extreme distress and pain'. The civil court, in its unprecedented ruling, has banned Booth from travelling outside the UK for five years. The judgment provides insight into the evidence that was presented to the court. Although it appears Booth had 'contracts' with some women who agreed to beatings, his conduct has been viewed as human trafficking and exploitation. And South Africa – and a South African woman – are referenced. Booth is also on trial for allegedly indecently communicating with a woman. This matter is expected to resume in August. He has denied the communication accusations, and is appealing the travel ban. Emails to two of his legal representatives in the travel ban case had not been responded to by the time of publication. 'Utterly harrowing' The judgment says a detective sergeant, Christopher Hughes, reviewed video and documentary evidence in the case. This included Skype messages recovered from Booth's electronic devices, which detailed issues relating to travel, including visas, and payment for women he was arranging to meet. Contracts containing 'agreements' between Booth and various women 'stating their obligation to submit to beatings as a term of their employment by the defender' were also found. 'The evidence of Mr Booth's egregious conduct, as presented in court, was, at times, utterly harrowing,' the judgment says. Videos showed Booth 'beating young women'. 'The graphic video footage, combined with the context and background provided by supporting documentary evidence in various forms, was redolent of a level of cruelty and depravity which, whilst extreme, one can only hope is rare.' 'Economically vulnerable women' Included in the judgment is a list of descriptions relating to the videos. One says: 'The video is 25 minutes long and shows a prolonged and sustained beating perpetrated by the defender. 'A young black woman is naked and kneeling on the floor. The defender [Booth] tells her there has been a problem and that there will be a punishment.' This 'problem' was that she had not called him 'sir' between 10am and 6.30pm. A description of another video says a young black woman is being caned. 'The video lasts for approximately 9 minutes. The beating occupies most of that time.' Hughes, according to the judgment, believed that Booth had travelled abroad regularly. 'He recruits economically vulnerable women from poor countries, arranges and pays for them to travel to a variety of countries, in particular South Africa, Dubai, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, where, once isolated and within his control, he subjects them to violent beatings,' it says. South African holiday Booth did not give evidence in the case and, apart from the transcript of an email exchange, no evidence was submitted on his behalf. South Africa is referenced in this email exchange, dated between October and November 2023. According to the judgment, the exchange involved police in Scotland, and in it Booth alluded to some plans to pay a woman while on holiday in South Africa, so that she could meet him and his family. The woman was referred to as a 'long-term friend'. 'As part of this exchange the defender is asked whether the woman had ever been sponsored by him or worked for him, and the defender replies stating that she had never worked for him,' the judgment says. It also references a Skype exchange in which Booth 'displays knowledge of how to circumvent United Kingdom immigration laws by arranging to travel to Dubai to meet a Miss AW, a South African citizen, in order that he can employ her in Dubai and thereafter sponsor her entry into the UK as an employee'. The judgment says the evidence in the matter has led to the ruling that Booth has 'committed acts of human trafficking and exploitation'. It also details a history of accusations linked to Booth. In 1991 he was accused of beating and whipping children in his care at a UK school. In 1992, The Independent reported that Booth, wanted in the UK, appeared to be launching a school in India. '[His] new venture was revealed when advertisements were placed in newspapers in Botswana, southern Africa, inviting parents to send their children to the boarding school in the Nadu region of India,' the article said. The judgment fills in what then happened: 'On his return [to the UK], in 1994, he was convicted after trial at Newcastle Crown Court of five charges of assaulting children.' The Telegraph reported in 2001 that Booth, whom it described as a 'millionaire racing tipster', was jailed for abusing his Brazilian au pair. 'He showed her a video of himself beating a young African woman on her bare buttocks to convince her that he would follow through with his threats,' the article said. 'After the trial, the court heard that Booth, [then] 41, had been convicted of common assault in 1994 for beating pupils at a boarding school he ran in Northumberland. On that occasion, he was given a suspended sentence.' The Scottish civil court judgment sums up Booth's background and allegations stemming from it. It says that between 1998 and December 2022, he recruited women from the UK and abroad, isolated and beat them, and 'through threats of violence' forced them 'to perform sexual acts on him'. DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
Sky News
17-04-2025
- Sky News
Woman who found job cutting weeds and providing massages for man 'scared and nervous' after 'sexual advances', court told
A man has gone on trial accused of leaving a woman "scared and nervous" after allegedly making sexual advances towards her at his Highland home. Kevin Booth, 65, is charged with directing "sexual communication" towards the woman, who is now 40. The alleged offences are said to have taken place at Booth's home at Lochdhu Lodge in Altnabreac, where he lived with his wife and young child, between 8 August 2022 and 9 December 2022. Booth denies a charge of directing sexual communication to a woman without her consent for the purposes of his own gratification, contrary to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. Wick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, found a job through a Facebook group and her contract included "cutting weeds" and providing massages to Booth. She was driven several hundred miles to Booth's home by her husband, and said she could not leave as she did not know where in Scotland she was and could not drive. Giving evidence with the assistance of an interpreter, the woman said she was "surprised" Booth was naked for the massages except for a towel covering his "private parts". The massages were said to have taken place in Booth's office or a "private room", with the accused reportedly "rating" them out of 10 afterwards. The woman said after one of the massages Booth offered her an "extra payment" to "spank" him. On another occasion, he reportedly offered her additional money "if there was a happy ending", and that he explained it to her when she asked him what it meant. She said she refused these requests, telling him at one point that she had children, and adding she had not done anything to suggest she was "interested in discussing these kinds of things". The woman also claimed that at one point, the towel with which Booth covered himself during massages was replaced with a "handkerchief". She said at her husband's suggestion, she began to take video and audio recordings of the massages, with her phone tucked into her pocket, saying she acted after Booth had "started to become naughty" during the sessions. She said: "I started recording because whenever the cover (fell) he asked me to pick it up and cover himself, and (said) it is not his job to cover himself." The woman described the effect Booth's actions had on her, saying: "I am actually afraid, there is fear in my chest but I did my best not to show him. "I was scared and nervous. I cannot really explain how I felt, but I was scared and nervous." She also claimed Booth had asked her intimate questions about her first husband, including about the size of his "manhood".
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Woman who found job cutting weeds and providing massages for man 'scared and nervous' after 'sexual advances', court told
A man has gone on trial accused of leaving a woman "scared and nervous" after allegedly making sexual advances towards her at his Highland home. Kevin Booth, 65, is charged with directing "sexual communication" towards the woman, who is now 40. The alleged offences are said to have taken place at Booth's home at Lochdhu Lodge in Altnabreac, where he lived with his wife and young child, between 8 August 2022 and 9 December 2022. Booth denies a charge of directing sexual communication to a woman without her consent for the purposes of his own gratification, contrary to the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009. Wick Sheriff Court heard on Thursday that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, found a job through a Facebook group and her contract included "cutting weeds" and providing massages to Booth. She was driven several hundred miles to Booth's home by her husband, and said she could not leave as she did not know where in she was and could not drive. Giving evidence with the assistance of an interpreter, the woman said she was "surprised" Booth was naked for the massages except for a towel covering his "private parts". The massages were said to have taken place in Booth's office or a "private room", with the accused reportedly "rating" them out of 10 afterwards. The woman said after one of the massages Booth offered her an "extra payment" to "spank" him. On another occasion, he reportedly offered her additional money "if there was a happy ending", and that he explained it to her when she asked him what it meant. She said she refused these requests, telling him at one point that she had children, and adding she had not done anything to suggest she was "interested in discussing these kinds of things". The woman also claimed that at one point, the towel with which Booth covered himself during massages was replaced with a "handkerchief". Read more from Sky News: She said at her husband's suggestion, she began to take video and audio recordings of the massages, with her phone tucked into her pocket, saying she acted after Booth had "started to become naughty" during the sessions. She said: "I started recording because whenever the cover (fell) he asked me to pick it up and cover himself, and (said) it is not his job to cover himself." The woman described the effect Booth's actions had on her, saying: "I am actually afraid, there is fear in my chest but I did my best not to show him. "I was scared and nervous. I cannot really explain how I felt, but I was scared and nervous." She also claimed Booth had asked her intimate questions about her first husband, including about the size of his "manhood". The trial, before Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald, continues.
Sky News
26-02-2025
- Sky News
Kevin Booth: Global travel ban for abuser who 'tortured' women in underground chamber
A man who used an underground chamber at his Highland home to abuse vulnerable women has been given the first worldwide travel ban in Scottish legal history. Kevin Booth - once described as a millionaire racing tipster - recruited women from the UK and abroad to come to Lochdhu Lodge in Altnabreac and administered so-called "punishment beatings" to them. Wick Sheriff Court heard that the lodge was in a "remote location" inaccessible by public transport. Within a building at the lodge, a trapdoor led to an underground chamber with a 60-metre-long curved concrete tunnel containing an empty coffin, life-sized Egyptian figures and a metal bench. In a written judgment published on Tuesday, Sheriff Neil Wilson wrote about how Booth abused the women and filmed the attacks. Describing one of the 13 videos played to the court, Sheriff Wilson noted: "This video shows the red and black metal contraption in the tomb area of Lochdhu. "A young black woman is handcuffed to it in a kneeling position. The defender tells her she is being punished for the way she spoke to him. "He tells her she has to learn her lesson. She appears to be terrified. She is screaming and crying. "She repeatedly tries to get away but is handcuffed to the bench. The defender swaps implements and continues to beat her. "She is hysterical. She cries out that it is painful. The defender tells her to 'pray for the strength to take it properly'. "This continues for the duration of the video: 18 minutes. This appears to be nothing other than torture. "She is chained to the contraption while the defender beats her. She is apparently terrified and tries to escape but cannot." Booth's actions at the lodge prompted Sir Iain Livingstone, then the chief constable of Police Scotland, to raise a civil action against him at Wick Sheriff Court. Lawyers for the police asked Sheriff Wilson to pass a trafficking and exploitation order for five years under terms of section 26 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. They told the court that between 1998 and December 2022, Booth engaged in a "consistent course of conduct of recruiting women, both from the United Kingdom and abroad" for the purposes of "isolating them, either at Lochdhu Lodge... far from their homes, and thereafter submitting them to violent beatings and forcing them, through threats of violence, to perform sexual acts on him". The lawyers said police could not monitor Booth when he travelled outside the UK, arguing the best way to minimise the risk he posed to females was to ban him from travelling outside of the country. Sheriff Wilson agreed and passed such an order - the first to be granted in Scottish legal history. Booth must surrender all passports and also notify police 14 days before hiring any female employee. Police must be notified in advance of any female visitors and officers may conduct unannounced welfare checks at his properties. Sheriff Wilson said Booth "takes pleasure in assaulting his victims" and justified them as "punishment beatings". He added: "Given the evidence presented by the pursuer, I had no difficulty coming to the conclusion that the defender has, consistently over many years, been engaged in a course of conduct involving the targeting of financially vulnerable women whom he subsequently coerces into submitting to abuse, and in doing so committed acts of human trafficking and exploitation. "I would go so far as to describe the evidence as overwhelming, and that the totality of the evidence presented by the pursuer, in the form of videos, Skype messages, documents and witness statements allows no other conclusion. "The evidence of Mr Booth's egregious conduct, as presented in court, was at times, utterly harrowing. "The graphic video footage, combined with the context and background provided by supporting documentary evidence in various forms, was redolent of a level of cruelty and depravity which, whilst extreme, one can only hope is rare."
