Rapist strikes again months after going free

Published on Thursday 17 June 2010 22:01

THE brutal rape of a schoolteacher by a convicted sex offender has sparked calls for tougher bail and monitoring conditions.

John Daly, 23, served four years of a seven-and-a-half-year sentence he was given in 2005 for raping a 17-year-old schoolgirl in a cemetery.

Within months of being released, he carried out the sex attack on the teacher, 26, in his Glasgow flat after meeting her on a night out.

Prosecutors want him to be made the subject of a strict lifelong restriction order when he is sentenced in August.

Scottish Tories said the case highlighted the need for satellite tracking of dangerous offenders and lie detector tests for sex offenders pending their release on bail. John Lamont, the party's justice spokesman, said: "John Daly was sentenced to seven and a half years for a horrific rape in 2005, yet was freed just four years later.

"Put simply, the measures currently in place to protect people in Scotland from sex offenders must be far more robust. Merely placing somebody on the sex offenders register is not enough."

Daly was with friends when he met the woman, a trainee secondary school teacher, and her cousin in a chip shop in April, the High Court in Glasgow heard yesterday. She had been shopping for a dress for her sister's wedding.

The women went back to Daly's flat in Barnflat Street, Rutherglen, with him and another man after being told he was having a party.

In the flat, Daly poured drinks and told the teacher he had served five years in jail for "stabbing someone".

He later said he had phoned taxis for everyone, but had actually only called one for his friend.

When he left, the woman also went downstairs, but Daly put his hands over her mouth and dragged her back to his bedroom.

With the woman's cousin asleep elsewhere in the flat, he repeatedly punched her in the face and squeezed her neck as she pleaded: "Please, no."

Prosecutor Andrew Miller said: "She could not breathe and was in a lot of pain. She believed the accused was going to kill her."

Daly raped her three times and forced her to commit a sex act.

He then told her he was leaving and to wait three minutes before calling the police. He said "sorry" as he fled. The woman's cousin was woken by the sound of her screaming.

The victim suffered extensive bruising to her head and face, and two black eyes. She also had bruises on her arms, legs and breasts.

Daly was detained in a city nightclub about 24 hours later.

Asked about the monitoring of sex offenders after they are released, the Scottish Government said it had decided not to use GPS tracking at present after an evaluation by the Ministry of Justice found issues with its robustness and high costs.

A spokeswoman added: "Scotland is one of the leading countries in the world in terms of its approach to the management of sex offenders and we will continue to strengthen our approach to dealing with them.

"Significant progress has been made in recent years – such as strengthening measures to assess, manage and minimise the risks posed under the Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements."