Polish rapist to wait another week to hear sentence

A POLISH rapist who subjected a terrified beautician to a lengthy rape ordeal will have to wait another week to hear his fate as a judge has requested further legal argument over his sentence.

Michal Marchlewski, 21, has been threatened with both a possible life sentence and deportation.

Marchlewski appeared briefly at the High Court in Edinburgh today expecting to hear his sentence.

Family of his 24-year-old victim were in the public benches.

But instead judge Lord Bracadale raised the problem of the "interaction" between a life sentence and a deportation order. The judge asked prosecutors and defence advocate Tony Graham to prepare for a full day legal debate next Wednesday.

At an earlier hearing the court heard how the 24-year-old woman's eight hour ordeal began when she was blasted in the face with pepper spray as she walked home from work in broad daylight.

The traumatised beautician later gave police a poignant description of what had happened as she was raped eight times and said she didn't think she would survive.

One of her attackers, Tomasz Kryczyk, 26, had been expected to admit rape and attempted murder but hanged himself in his prison cell just days before he was due to appear in court.

The details of the horrific events were revealed when Kryczyk's cousin Marchlewski pleaded guilty to a charge which included rape, assault to danger of life and robbery.

Judge Lord Bracadale told Marchlewski he was considering a life sentence for the repeated rapes and other sexual assaults.