Man admits raping woman in her own home

A knife-wielding attacker raped a woman in her home during a terrifying 90-minute ordeal, a court heard today.

John McKeown, 22, threatened to kill the woman before carrying out the attack in the early hours of November 6 last year.

McKeown, who got into the property through an unlocked side door, had forced a man and a young child living at the house to stay in another room while the assault took place.

Immediately after the attack, McKeown started crying and said: "Sorry, I've just done the worst thing."

The High Court in Edinburgh heard the woman, who is now aged 40, suffered post-traumatic stress after the incident, felt nervous at home and could not go out on her own for some time.

Prosecutor Gillian Wade told the court: "He (McKeown) had been in the house holding the victims in abject terror for an hour-and-a-half."

McKeown, a complete stranger to the victims, today admitted a charge of raping the woman at the property in the Deans area of Livingston, West Lothian.

Judge Lord Stewart deferred sentence until March 9.