Rapist sexually assaulted woman just hours after separate attack in Stirling

A MAN who raped a terrified student just hours after trying to rape another woman has been jailed for eight years and eight months.

One of the attacks took place at Stirling's Customs Roundabout. Picture: Google Maps

Thomas Robertson, 27, was told by judge Lord Boyd he poses a danger to the public and ordered to be monitored in the community for five years after his release.

Lord Boyd told him: “In the course of a few hours you subjected your victims to significant sexual attacks with significant violence and threats.”

The judge praised the quick-thinking and resourcefulness of the two victims in managing to eventually get away from Robertson,

Robertson pounced on the 21-year-old as she walked home from a friend’s flat in Stirling in the early hours in February this year.

The victim feared she was going to die as Robertson held a lump of concrete over her head during the attack. But she eventually managed to flee before collapsing in tears at home.

It emerged he had attacked a second stranger hours earlier after battering her and dragging her towards bushes.

Robertson, who has previous convictions for robbery, pled guilty to charges of rape and assault with intent to rape.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the 21-year-old was attacked after leaving a friend’s flat around 2:30am on 3 February.

She was at an underpass near the Customs Roundabout in Stirling when Robertson struck. He pinned her to the ground before eventually raping her. At one point, he grabbed a piece of concrete and held it above her head.

Prosecutor Gillian Ross said: “She thought she was not going to escape with her life.”

Robertson claimed at one point that if his victim did not struggle, he would not “hurt” her. She broke free and raced towards her home, where she told a friend she had been raped.

Hours earlier, Robertson, of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, had already attacked a 22-year-old woman.

She had also been heading to her home in Stirling around 11pm on 2 February when Robertson grabbed her.

Defence QC Brian McConnachie said: “He has a partner who is standing by him.”

The QC said that Robertson admitted his guilt and had some insight into what his victims must have suffered.

Mr McConnachie said: “He has a significant record, but not for anything sexual up until now. He realises his offending has spiralled out of control.”

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