Solicitor accused of stalking tells court he 'made mistakes'
A Crown Prosecution Service solicitor accused of stalking his deputy district judge wife said he had "made mistakes".
Scott Ainge, 48, allegedly stalked his now former wife Kate Ainge, 41, after he discovered she was having an affair. Mr Ainge told Liverpool Crown Court he had made "numerous mistakes" and had "said things I regret". He denies stalking between September 2016 and January 2018 and four counts of unauthorised access of information under the Computer Misuse Act. The jury was directed to return a not guilty verdict in respect of a fifth count under the Computer Misuse Act. Mr Ainge is alleged to have used the CPS computer system to look up Ms Ainge's new partner Andrew Thompson. Giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court, father-of-two Mr Ainge said: "If I had my time again I would deal with things far differently. I'm now two or three years further on and the emotion's gone, the pain is healing, it has healed I hope." The solicitor, who specialised in domestic violence cases, said the marriage did not seem to him to be a "disaster", as Ms Ainge described it in evidence. He denied allegations made by Ms Ainge that he had affairs during their marriage and fathered a child with his friend's wife. The court heard in October 2016, Ms Ainge, who had moved out of the family home in Leyland, Lancashire, and in with her parents, told him she was out at a magistrate's retirement party. Mr Ainge, of Camellia Drive, said after going to her parents' home in the evening and seeing she had not returned, he found out she was at the Railway pub in Leyland. He told the court he went to the pub and saw her with Mr Thompson. Mr Ainge said he left the pub after Mr Thompson grabbed him by his jacket, but later returned and saw his wife getting into a taxi with Mr Thompson and his friend Gavin Hall. The court heard he followed the taxi in his car until Ms Ainge got out at Mr Hall's house, after Mr Thompson had been dropped off. Mr Ainge said he told Mr Hall: "You don't want to go there mate, you don't know where she's been." He told the court: "I shouldn't have said it, it wasn't a nice thing to say, it wasn't a proper thing to say." The trial continues. Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk