SECURITY GUARD STOPPED MAN TRYING TO RAPE DRUNK WOMAN IN EDINBURGH LANE
A man who led a highly intoxicated woman into a dark Edinburgh lane and tried to rape her has been jailed after a security guard’s intervention stopped the attack.OLAKSANDR DUPIK, 34, who came to the UK under the Ukrainian refugee scheme, admitted attempting to rape the woman in THISTLE STREET NORTH EAST LANE, Edinburgh, on 23 November last year.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard the woman had been on a night out with a friend before ending up in a city centre bar, where she met DUPIK.
She later said she could not remember leaving the venue.
Her next memory was of “being in the dark lying on cobbled stones”.
DUPIK left the bar with the woman, who was seen by a security guard working at a nearby private office.
The guard became concerned because the woman appeared heavily intoxicated and DUPIK seemed to be holding her up.
He noticed she was “flopping about” and saw her fall against shutters.
Concerned for her welfare, he contacted a supervisor.
DUPIK then led the woman into the lane, where she fell onto the cobbled roadway.
He helped her up before she sat on the pavement.
He then kissed and touched her.
The woman fell back again, but DUPIK picked her up and placed her over an electricity box before trying to rape her.
She attempted to push him away with her hands.
The security guard left his office and went towards the lane after hearing the woman say “ouch” and “no”.
When he looked into the lane and saw what was happening, he shouted: “What the f***”, causing DUPIK to run off.
The guard went to help the woman, who was lying on the pavement.
She told him: “I think I’ve been sexually assaulted.” Police were called and officers found the woman slurring her speech and unable to stand without help.
DUPIK was arrested in the early hours of the morning.
He later claimed there had been consensual kissing but denied any sexual activity.
He went on to admit attempted rape.
Sentencing him, LADY DRUMMOND said the only thing that stopped DUPIK was the vigilance and care shown by the security guard.
She said: “The security guard is to be commended for the actions he took out of concern and care towards the complainer.
Had he not interrupted you, I have no doubt you would have persisted in your behaviour.” The judge was shown CCTV footage of the moments leading up to the attempted rape and said it was clear the woman was in a “highly intoxicated and vulnerable state”.
Addressing DUPIK, she said: “You had never met her until that night, and it must have been obvious to you that she was intoxicated and incapable of consenting to any sexual activity.” She added: “She can be seen on the footage having to be held up by others out of concern for her wellbeing, yet you, knowing her vulnerable state, walked her down a dark and isolated lane and attempted to rape her.” Defence counsel WENDY CULROSS said DUPIK was a first offender with no previous history of sexual offending.
She said he had a difficult background and poor mental health.
DUPIK, who had been in custody since November, was jailed for four years.
LADY DRUMMOND said he would have faced five and a half years in prison, but the sentence was reduced because of his guilty plea.
He was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and made subject to a non-harassment order banning him from contacting or attempting to contact the victim.
