‘Fantastic Beasts’ Actor Sentenced to 3 Years Behind Bars for Sexual Assault

Kevin Guthrie, a Scottish actor who played Abernathy in the first two Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movies, was sentenced to three years in jail for sexual assault. Guthrie allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in a Glasgow, Scotland apartment in 2017. The 33-year-old denied the charges, claiming he “helped” the woman after she became sick, reports the BBC. However, the jury was told Guthrie’s DNA was discovered inside the woman’s underwear.

The actor was found guilty after a four-day trial. He was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. “The court must show that women can be protected from domestic sexual offenses,” Sheriff Tom Hughes told Guthrie in Glasgow Sheriff Court. The assault “caused distress and consequences to the young woman involved in this case,” Hughes said, adding that the woman thought her drink was drugged elsewhere the night of the assault. “The jury accepted that you committed these heinous crimes and the only appropriate sentence is imprisonment,” the sheriff said.

The alleged assault happened on Sept. 30, 2017, at the apartment of actor Scott Reid. The woman, then 29, met Reid and Guthrie at a Glasgow bar. Reid was later called to help the woman out of a taxi when she fell sick. The two actors helped the woman into Guthrie’s apartment and put her on a bed. While Reid called the National Health Service helpline, he left Guthrie to “make sure she was OK,” the jury was told.

The woman testified that she “remembered my top being lifted up and my bra being held down,” reports the BBC. She claimed Guthrie groped her before performing a sex act. He performed two more sexual acts and then kissed her on her mouth. Guthrie allegedly stopped each time Reid came into the room.

Guthrie is best known for his role in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) and the sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). He also had a role in the Oscar-winning Dunkirk (2017). He also starred in AMC’s The Terror (2018) and the miniseries Restless (2012). Last year he starred in Julian Fellowes’ Netflix miniseries The English Game.