Two men sentenced for raping woman in Kirkcaldy

Two men have been sentenced for the rape of a teenager in Kirkcaldy.

Abel Muntean, 19, and Raul Novac, 34, were convicted following a trial for the abduction, sexual assault and rape of the woman in January 2017.

Muntean was jailed for ten years and Novac for five at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The then 18-year-old woman had left a nightclub in the early hours of 1st January 2017 and had got into what she thought was a taxi.

The driver of the vehicle, Abel Muntean, failed to tell the woman she wasn’t in a taxi and instead took her to an address in Kirkcaldy where she was met by a second man, Raul Novac.

The woman was held within the address for several hours against her will and during this time was assaulted and raped by both men.

An investigation was launched by detectives from Fife’s Divisional Rape Investigation Unit (DRIU) which resulted in Muntean and Novac being charged in January 2017.

Detective Sergeant Calum Lawrie from the DRIU said: “We welcome the sentencing of Muntean and Novac who took advantage of the woman and who subjected her to such horrific crimes.

"The woman believed she was being taken home following the New Year celebrations and instead was put through the most traumatic and frightening ordeal.

“I would like to thank and commend her for the courage she has shown through our investigation and the subsequent trial process.

"I hope that the verdict will offer some closure as she looks to move forward with her life.

“We treat all reports of sexual crime with the utmost seriousness and all reports will be thoroughly and robustly investigated.

"We remain committed to ensuring that the perpetrators of such crimes are brought before the courts and justice is sought for victims."