Former bus director receives vice fine

Mr Hinkley was arrested by vice squad officers

A former executive director of the Stagecoach transport group has been convicted of soliciting a male prostitute.

William Hinkley offered no defence when the case came before an American court on Thursday.

The 51-year-old, who resigned from the company after his arrest in July, was fined $1500.

He was arrested in a hotel in Texas by an undercover policeman posing as a male prostitute.

Police swooped on a Houston hotel

Hinkley's arrest occurred after the Stagecoach chairman Brian Souter led a campaign against repeal of Section 28 - the law which bans the promotion of homosexuality in schools.

He resigned from his post with the Perth-based company, which had suspended him after hearing about his arrest.

Hinkley pleaded no contest on Thursday to the charge of soliciting a male prostitute.

He entered the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors who agreed not to seek a jail sentence.

Mr Hinkley spoke in a barely audible voice when he informed Harris County-Court-at-Law Judge Mark Atkinson that he would not fight the charge.

Hinkley was also ordered to pay $250 in court costs.

He was arrested in a Houston hotel on 28 June by an undercover policeman posing as a male prostitute.

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Prosecutor Warren Diepraam said Hinkley had arranged for a "sex date" costing $100 through an escort service that turned out to be a police sting operation.

Hinkley could have received up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine for the misdemeanour charge.

But Mr Diepraam said he was not seeking a jail term because Hinkley had no previous arrests and there were no aggravating circumstances.

Hinkley became a director and chairman of Stagecoach's UK bus division after a spell as managing director of the company's Cumbrian operations.

He had been with the company for 14 years and had been in the transport business for more than 35 years.