Remorseless, sadistic predator gets 10 years for kidnap and rape

A "VIOLENT predator" who abducted and raped a woman in a "brutal and sadistic" attack has been jailed for a minimum of 10 years.

Ewan Mackay, from Whitburn in West Lothian, was handed a lifelong restriction order after he admitted kidnapping his victim and putting her in the boot of his car during the ordeal.

Mackay, 30, snatched the 27-year-old from the Portobello area of Edinburgh before driving her to his home and assaulting her.

Following the sentencing at the High Court in Paisley yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Alan Crawford from Lothian and Borders Police praised the victim's bravery.

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.

"The sentence that has been passed today reflects the gravity of the offences committed by Mackay, who is a violent predator who has shown no remorse for his actions."

Mackay pled guilty to assault and rape at the High Court in Edinburgh on 31 August last year. Judge Rita Rae QC said it was clear that the offender was a serious danger to the public, describing the attack as "brutal and sadistic" in her sentencing statement published yesterday.

Despite the victim's injuries, she was able to escape Mackay by jumping out of his moving car.

The judge 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."

The sentence handed down to Mackay means he will not be released from prison until it is decided he no longer poses a serious risk to the public.

If he is released, he will remain under supervision for the rest of his life.

Mackay picked up his victim in the early hours of 6 December, 2009 and drove her to the West Telferton industrial estate in Portobello.

Mackay throttled her until she passed out and she woke to find herself in his boot with a hammer lying next to her.

He then drove her to his home in West Lothian and, after dragging her inside, got a large knife and put duct tape over her mouth and on her wrists. She was held overnight and repeatedly raped.A child was in the house at the time of the attack, and Mackay blamed his victim for waking the child up before he forced her back into his car, from which she eventually escaped.

After alerting a neighbour, the cul-de-sac was closed by armed police during a stand-off before the child within the house was handed out to negotiators and Mackay gave himself up.

Police previously said they believe MacKay may be a serial rapist as he escaped jail in 2001 after being convicted of strangling another woman with a sock.

DCI Crawford added: "Lothian and Borders Police is committed to protecting all those in our communities, and we will continue to work closely with our partners in the Crown Office and elsewhere to ensure that violent offenders like MacKay are brought to justice."