Life for rapist who tried to lure girl to home

Published on Friday 2 October 2009 22:05

A "HIGH risk" freed rapist who tried to lure a teenage girl to his home with the promise of drink and drugs has been given a life sentence.

David McMillan, 33, began phoning the girl days after being released from prison, for which police had prepared by taking out a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (Sopo) against him.

McMillan's record included the "appallingly evil" rape of an elderly spinster when he was a teenager. He had been given a life term for that offence, but the sentence was reduced to nine years on appeal.

Background reports were prepared on McMillan in connection with his latest offence, and it was stated: "The court will be left in no doubt that all interested parties had serious professional concerns about the potential for harm carried by this man."

Lord Brodie said at the High Court in Edinburgh that he was satisfied specified risk criteria had been met and he should impose an order for lifelong restriction. It means McMillan will be released from custody only when it is deemed safe by the parole board, and will be supervised for the rest of his life and liable to be recalled to jail.

In May last year, the then chief constable of Tayside, John Vine, obtained the Sopo at Perth Sheriff Court, under which McMillan was barred from unsupervised contact with any female child.

In July, within days of walking out of jail, he started calling a girl, 14, whom he did not know. Over several days, he sent text messages and phoned, asking her to meet him and repeatedly inviting her to his home in Perth. He told her he had drugs and alcohol in the house.

McMillan was taken into custody and admitted breaching the Sopo when he appeared at Perth Sheriff Court. Sheriff Michael Fletcher decided to remit the case to the High Court for sentence.

In 1996, McMillan, an unemployed hotel worker from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, broke into the home of a 73-year-old retired teacher in Oban late at night.

Her shoulder was broken when he pushed her and he made her shuffle on her knees to a bedroom, where he raped her.

The woman was in hospital for more than a month and developed blood poisoning. It was feared she might die, and arrangements were made to take a death-bed statement.

The judge in the rape case, Lord Milligan, described it as an almost unimaginable and appalling evil crime. He had grave doubts about when it would be safe to release McMillan and he imposed a life sentence.

At the Court of Criminal Appeal, Lord Rodger, then Lord Justice-General, and Lords Cullen and Marnoch, held that a life term was excessive and substituted a sentence of nine years.

In 2006, a police CCTV operator recognised McMillan as he followed an 18-year-old woman through Perth. He was intercepted at her front door by police, and admitted stalking her but was spared a jail sentence.

The following year, McMillan tried to entice a 13-year-old girl from a public park. He cycled off when a passing policeman recognised him. He was jailed for 18 months. In the latest background reports, McMillan was said to pose a serious risk and the chance of him reoffending was assessed as very high.

McMillan, who appeared for himself, told Lord Brodie he had been unaware of the age of the person he was contacting. He claimed his guilty plea was a mistake by his lawyer.

Lord Brodie ordered that McMillan should not be allowed to apply for parole until he had served at least 18 months in prison, and backdated that period to August last year when he had been taken into custody.