UDDINGSTON MAN JAILED FOR HORRIFIC RAPE AFTER STALKING VICTIM
A 35-year-old man has been jailed for raping a woman at knifepoint in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire.John Ryan, from Uddingston, was sentenced to six years and eight months at the High Court in Livingston.
Ryan admitted the offence, which occurred close to a busy residential street after he apparently followed his 20-year-old victim.
The sentence was welcomed by police, who described Ryan's offence as a "horrific crime".
Ryan was detained after police questioned known sex offenders in the area.
The court heard that Ryan followed his victim to a wooded area near Castle Gate in Uddingston as she was walking home from the train station around 22:15 on Tuesday 24 March.
He attacked her from behind, putting one hand over her mouth and the other across her chest, while holding a folding pocket knife.
The victim begged him to leave her alone and offered her handbag, but he told her: "Come with me." Ryan then dragged her into woodland, ignored her pleas, and raped her before leaving.
Following the sentencing, Det Insp Tom Carty of Police Scotland's national rape taskforce said: "Ryan is without doubt a dangerous, predatory individual, who stalked his victim before sexually assaulting her just yards from a busy residential street.
This was an incident which shocked the tight knit community of Uddingston.
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the bravery of the young woman in coming forward and reporting this horrific crime, and also I'd like to thank the public who contacted the police with information following our appeals." Ryan was arrested after police issued CCTV images.
He has a previous sex attack conviction from 2004, and his DNA matched samples taken from the victim, leading to his conviction.
