Steven Lock, 43, and a woman in her forties, who cannot be named
for legal reasons, began a relationship based around sado-masochistic role play
after meeting on a dating website.
But prosecutors alleged that last August the fantasy went too far
as Lock chained the women "like a dog" to his bedroom floor and whipped her
repeatedly with a rope.
He denied assault causing actual bodily harm, saying the woman had
consented.
During the trial, Lock was asked by defence counsel Roger Thomson
if he and the alleged victim had read Fifty Shades Of Grey.
He replied: "That's where we got the idea from."
The court heard the couple took part in group sex and bondage together and the woman had the words "Property of Steven Lock" tattooed around her genitals.
The woman also signed a contract promising Mr Lock free use of her body and entitling him to lash her if she did not follow his rules.
Lock told the court the woman consented to the activity and the couple agreed on the code word "Red", which was to be used if either of them began to feel uncomfortable.
The woman, who told the court she broke down in tears and screamed as she was beaten 14 times with the rope, never used this word.
She said: "I knew there would be pain involved and I knew I wasn't going to like it but I'd agreed to it and had to follow it through."
Mr Thomson said Lock felt bad about what he had done.
Giving evidence, Lock said: "It was supposed to be kinky fun, I
didn't want her to cry."
She suffered bruising to the buttocks and neck.
After the lashings, the couple had sex then Lock left her chained
to the floor while he went on his computer, the court heard.
"Fifty Shades Of Grey is not a manual: it's a work of
fiction and this is a case which demonstrates that things can go wrong."
Prosecutor Duncan O'Donnell told jurors: "It was part of a
master-slave fantasy and she went there expecting a fantasy when Mr Lock wanted
reality.
"She may have expected some playful spanking, to be hit lightly
perhaps, but she received a lashing with a rope."
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Ooops. Im really not sure what i think about this, part of me thinks "silly naive woman" but i also appreciate that sometimes we all make rash errors of judgement in the heat of the moment, i have acted on my naivety before and reality doesnt always live up to the fantasy but in this case it just went horribly wrong,
