Handed suspended sentence earlier this year
A barrister convicted of sexual assault has been disbarred by a disciplinary tribunal.
Kevin Stewart Farquharson was convicted at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court in March 2021 for a sexual assault which took place in September 2019. He was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
The Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service (BTAS) found that Farquharson, who was called to the bar in 2011, sent a text message to his victim asking her to respond to a future message from him with a scripted response he had prepared. This prepared response was “not a truthful account” of the events on the day of the assault, according to the published finding.
The tribunal further found that Farquharson had subsequently sent a message to another barrister asking them to “lie about the events” at the time of the assault.
The tribunal said Farquharson had engaged in conduct which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in him or in the profession, and had acted in a way which could reasonably be seen by the public to undermine his integrity.
A spokesperson for the BSB said:
“Mr Farquharson’s conduct of sexually assaulting another person and then making dishonest efforts to conceal it is clearly incompatible with the standards expected by the public from barristers. The tribunal’s decision to disbar him reflects this.”
The tribunal disbarred Farquharson and ordered him to pay costs of £2,100.
The decision is open to appeal.
