Aberdeen Sex Offender Jailed For Life

A high-risk predatory sex offender who repeatedly raped a young woman in Abderdeen a prolonged, vile and depraved attack'' has been given a lifelong restriction order.

Daniel Welsh, 22, pounced on the 25-year-old victim in Aberdeen in February and raped her at two separate remote locations.

The terrifying ordeal, which lasted for nearly two hours, left the woman seriously traumatised and suffering incalculable'' psychological damage.

Welsh was a registered sex offender, on bail and subject to a full Sexual Offences Prevention Order when he carried out the degrading attack, a court heard.

Judge Lady Rae today imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) on Welsh, meaning that once he is deemed safe to be released he will be subject to continuing risk assessments and will likely remain under close supervision for the rest of his life.

Sitting at the High Court in Edinburgh, she ordered him to spend a minimum of four and a half years behind bars.

Welsh - who claimed not to remember committing the crime - pleaded guilty to rape at a court hearing in June.

Passing sentence, Lady Rae told him he was guilty of a most serious and monstrous attack'' on a woman who was unknown to him.

She said: The attack lasted almost two hours during which you forced her to accompany you, threatened to shoot her if she did not comply with your instructions and subjected her to a horrific, degrading and prolonged sexual attack.

You repeatedly raped her at two separate remote locations.

Despite her repeated pleas to be released from your control you forced her to accompany you between each of these locations, which were some distance from each other.

One cannot even imagine the terror that this young woman must have suffered during that period.

It is clear from the victim's impact statement that she has been seriously traumatised by your actions and the long-lasting psychological damage to this young woman is incalculable.''

The Crown had urged the court to impose an OLR while the defence suggested an extended sentence was appropriate in light of his age.

But the judge told Welsh he was a high-risk offender who met the required criteria to receive an OLR.

His record of previous convictions included offending of a sexual nature dating back to 2007, she said.

The judge pointed to his age and difficult background but said his troubled history cannot mitigate the seriousness of the charge against him.

You have a significant history of sexual offending and, combined with the circumstances of the present offence, it is obvious that you are a serious danger to the public,'' Lady Rae told Welsh.

She branded the attack prolonged, vile and depraved''.

The judge's statement was released by the Judiciary of Scotland following the hearing.

After sentencing, Police Scotland paid tribute to the victim's courage.

Detective Inspector Kevin Walker said: This was an extremely distressing incident for the victim and I want to pay tribute to her courage in coming forward and helping police with the inquiry, which resulted in Daniel Welsh being quickly apprehended.

Welsh is a predatory offender who subjected his victim to a brutal and sustained attack, and has shown no remorse for his actions.

I welcome the sentence handed to him today where he can no longer be a threat to the public.

I want to reassure the public that attacks like these are very rare. We take these incidents very seriously and will be thoroughly investigated.''