Police hunt for further victims as rapist jailed

DETECTIVES today appealed to potential victims of a violent sex attacker, who was jailed for a minimum of ten years for abducting and raping a woman, to come forward.

Ewan Mackay was sentenced yesterday for the "brutal and sadistic" attack on the 27-year-old, who was kidnapped and locked in his car boot during her ordeal.

But detectives believe Mackay may be linked to other sex attacks and urged anyone who believes they may have been a victim to contact police.

Investigators also asked anyone who has information about Mackay's life and movements to get in touch as they seek to connect him with unsolved sex crimes.

Mackay, from Whitburn in West Lothian, was also handed a lifelong restriction order for his attack on Siadaire Robinson, who has waived her anonymity in the case.

The 30-year-old picked up Ms Robinson in the early hours of December 6, 2009 as she worked as a prostitute in Leith and drove her to the West Telferton industrial estate in Portobello.

Mackay hit her over the head with a hammer and throttled her until she passed out before bundling her into his car boot and driving her to his home.

The attacks continued in his home, and Ms Robinson only managed to escape by jumping from his moving car after he put her back in the vehicle.

Mackay, a married father-of-one, admitted abducting, raping and attempting to murder her before being sentenced at the High Court in Paisley yesterday.

Judge Rita Rae QC said: "One cannot even imagine the terror that this young woman must have suffered. To say that the attack was frightening for her is an understatement and it is no wonder that she believed that she was going to be killed."

Mackay's sentence means he will not be released from prison until it is decided he no longer poses a serious risk to the public. If released, he will remain under supervision for the rest of his life.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Crawford praised the victim's bravery following the hearing. He said: "The injuries she sustained were horrific and certainly life-threatening, and had she not received immediate medical care she may not have survived. It is down to her strong character and will to survive that she managed to escape from Mackay, and I pay tribute to her bravery."

Ms Robinson suffered a fractured skull and hands and blood clots in her lung and was in St John's Hospital, Livingston, for a month after her ordeal.

Mackay avoided jail after a previous attack. He was given a "chance to put his life in order" by a judge in 2001 after being convicted of strangling a teenager with a sock.

DCI Crawford has appealed to anyone with information on Mackay between the 2001 and 2009 attacks.

He said: "Mackay has not been on our radar for eight years. Do you know him? What has he been doing? Please come forward - we don't care what you do for a living, or your situation."