LISTEN: Meadows rapist jailed for six years
A man who raped a student as she walked home from a party has been jailed for six years.
A man who raped a student as she walked home from a party has been jailed for six years.
Steven Davidson, 24, targeted the lone female as she made her way across in the Meadows in Edinburgh in the early hours of the morning.
The despicable'' attack happened on November 15, 2014 when Davidson grabbed the 19-year-old from behind and forced her to the ground.
He ran off during a struggle but was later traced and linked to the rape by DNA evidence.
Davidson, from Newtongrange, Midlothian, was arrested by officers a month after the attack.
Convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh on January 20, he has been sentenced to six years in prison and placed on the sex offenders' register.
Detective Chief Inspector Alwyn Bell from the Edinburgh Public Protection Unit based at Fettes has been speaking to our reporter Shiona McCallum about the crime, listen here:
Kenny Donnelly, procurator fiscal for High Court cases in the east of Scotland, said: This was a despicable attack on a defenceless young woman, picked at random as she walked home.
Prosecutors take crimes of rape and sexual offences extremely seriously and we are committed to ensuring that all such cases are investigated thoroughly and sensitively, and are prosecuted appropriately.
Victims of such offences can be confident that they will be treated with the utmost professionalism by everyone involved in the investigation and prosecution, and we will do all we can to deliver justice for them.''