Glasgow man jailed for raping women he met on dating sites

A former Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army who raped two women he met on a dating site has been jailed for eight years.

Fifty-year-old Philip Donegan from Knightswood, Glasgow, who was a formerly a tax lecturer at Strathclyde University and a tax adviser with law firm Tods Murray, met his victims on match.com.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that Donegan raped a 33-year-old in her Paisley home in October, 2016 and a 30-year-old woman at his home in Glasgow, on July 28, 2017.

Donegan was also found guilty of a stalking campaign against the 33-year-old following the rape by bombarding her with unwanted texts, phone calls and threatening to send an indecent photograph of her to her boss.

Prosecutor Sheena Fraser said: “Mr Donegan is a man who does not listen when he is told no.”

Donegan was jailed for eight years and will be supervised in the community for a further four years after his release.

Passing sentence yesterday judge Norman Ritchie QC said Donegan presents a "high risk of further sexual offending" and he went online “to get woman for sex".

He said: “Your efforts there lead you to these two women, who if not vulnerable had a degree of vulnerability about them.

“It was their misfortune to meet you and I commend their courage in coming forward and giving evidence, it's not easy.”

The judge added: “It's plain you are a man who does not take no for an answer, no means no.”

The 30-year-old woman said in evidence that she went to the police after becoming distressed watching the attempted rape scene in Braveheart on DVD.

She told the jury: “I was so upset I phoned my former husband and said: 'I've been raped.'”

The woman then contacted the police.

She told prosecutor Ms Fraser that initially the sex between them was consensual, but then she said it was painful and asked him to stop.

Ms Fraser asked the woman: “Did you make clear you wanted him to stop,” and she replied: “Absolutely.”

The woman told the jury: “I asked him to stop and he acknowledged that by responding “please baby, just let me come.”

Creepy Donegan stalked his other victim between October 13 and November 6, 2016, after she told him never to contact her again.

On one occasion he left a plastic bag with a card from him and a lip balm which she had dropped in a supermarket. This was placed on her front door while she was at home.

The woman said: “I was so upset that I went into a complete meltdown.”

She told the jurors that while Donegan raped her she was “squirming” and added: “I told him various times I didn't like it and asked him to stop.”

Ms Fraser told the jury: “In both cases after the rapes the accused acted as if nothing was wrong, but afterwards apologised to the women.”

In evidence, Donegan claimed that sex with both women was consensual.

He said that the threat to send an indecent photograph of the 33-year-old to her boss was “a joke.”

Ms Fraser stated: “What you did was stalking,” and Donegan replied: “It wasn't my intention, but I accept she may have been anxious about the situation."

The court heard the woman eventually texted Donegan telling him: “you are acting like a f***ing headcase."

He told the jurors referring to the threat to sent the photo: “It wasn't intended as a threat it was an ill-advised wind-up, a joke in poor taste.”

As sentence was passed Donegan sat impassive in the dock.

Ms Fraser told the court that Donegan has two previous convictions at sheriff court level.

Yesterday defence counsel Joe Barr said: "Mr Donegan does not accept his guilt."

Mr Barr added: "He is someone who has certainly undergone some form of mid or later life crises resulting in developing this chaotic offending."

This was the second time donegan has appeared at the High Court accused of rape.

In June 2016 at the High Court in Paisley he was cleared of raping a mother-of-three he met on a dating site