Mary Gorman to dodge trial after ‘sex and drugs’ fracas in club toilet

MARY Gorman, the wife of Gadget Shop tycoon Chris Gorman, who was originally accused of conducting a sex act in a male toilet, has struck a deal with prosecutors in Florida that will allow her to avoid trial over her arrest for the possession of drugs.

Mrs Gorman might not even have to return to the United States under the conditions of the agreement, announced at a court hearing in Orlando yesterday.

The 44-year-old mother of four will enter a programme called pre-trial diversion, which will allow her to perform community service in exchange for charges being dropped.

Mrs Gorman, from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, had faced up to 11 years in prison if convicted on three charges of cocaine possession and “battery” of a law enforcement officer at Orlando’s Roxy nightclub August.

According to arrest documents, an off-duty policeman working as a bouncer at the club was called to investigate a disturbance in the men’s toilets and found Mrs Gorman, her husband and an unidentified black man in a cubicle.

The officer’s affidavit stated that he saw Mrs Gorman performing a sex act on the other man while her husband watched, although she was never charged in relation to that.

A charge of obstructing a police officer against Mr Gorman, 45, was dropped last year.

Mark Horwitz, Mrs Gorman’s Orlando-based lawyer, issued a statement after the hearing, at which his client was not present.

“Mrs Gorman has accepted the state’s offer and will be meeting with a representative of pre-trial diversion in the near future,” he said.

“Upon successful completion of pre-trial diversion, which does not involve an admission of guilt, the case against Mrs Gorman will be dismissed by the state.”

In January, a similar offer from the state attorney’s office was withdrawn. The details of Mrs Gorman’s new agreement have yet to be settled, but Danielle Tavernier, spokeswoman for Orange County state attorney Lawson Lamar, said it was possible that she might be able to meet its terms in Scotland, subject to the judge’s approval.

“Pre-trial diversion is typically offered to first-time offenders, or those arrested for the first time, and it could be anything from taking anger management classes or community service, depending on the nature of the charges,” she said.

“While it usually takes place within the county, it’s not unusual for people to relocate or to ask to have the services transferred elsewhere. If a person successfully completes the pre-trial diversion there is generally no need for them to appear in court.”

A spokesman said Mrs Gorman would be “making no further comment.”

Mr Horwitz, meanwhile, attacked what he saw as “sensational reporting”, following the public release of the arrest report from a serving police officer stating that he saw Mrs Gorman engaged in sexual misconduct.

The officer, he claims, later admitted to prosecutors that the information about what he saw was “incorrect”.