Man Jailed For Seven Years For Rape And Sexual Assault

A widower who thanked a jury moments after being convicted of rape and sexual assault has been jailed for seven years.

Despicable Joseph McMullan,51, targeted his three victims at various locations in West Dunbartonshire between January 2008 and January 2013.

He was caged following a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.

Judge Lord Uist passed sentence on McMullan after hearing how the sex offender refused to accept his guilt.

Lord Uist said: "You have shown no remorse for what you did to these women. You blame your victims for your situation.

"Your attitude is quite deplorable. It provides in part an explanation for these crimes."

McMullan, of Brucehill, Dumbarton, was convicted of two charges of sexual assault and a charge of rape following a trial at the High Court in Dumbarton last month.

Sentence had been deferred for the court to obtain reports about his character.

During those proceedings, prosecution lawyer Allan Nicol told the court that McMullan had "embarked on a course of conduct involving taking advantage of vulnerable women".

The court heard one woman was in her early 20s when he attacked her in his car.

The victim said she had gone to McMullan's home in Dumbarton to buy cannabis and found a barbecue was being held.

She said McMullan asked her to go with him in his car to buy more beer, but he took her to Helensburgh.

On the way back he started undoing her bikini top, stopped the car and sexually assaulted her.

His victim said she had fought him off before falling out of the car during the attack, which happened between 2010 and 2011.

Another woman told how she had gone to McMullan's home to buy drugs last year after arguing with her boyfriend. She said she had fallen asleep in McMullan's bedroom after talking to him and turning down his advances.

She later woke from a deep sleep to find him raping her.

McMullan was also found guilty of attempt to rape a woman in 2008. Moments after his conviction, McMullan thanked the members of the jury for their verdicts.

On Tuesday, defence advocate Lorraine Glancy told Lord Uist that her client was a widower.

She also said that he had spent the past few years raising a young family.

Ms Glancy added: "Mr McMullan's conviction will clearly have catastrophic consequences on his family. He fully appreciates that he will spend the rest of their childhood in prison."

The court also heard that McMullan told social workers that he maintained that he was innocent of any wrong doing.

Lord Uist told McMullan that he had no other option but to impose a lengthy jail sentence on him.