Student in sex assault on teenage girl in alley faces prison

A STUDENT who had claimed he was "going for a hooker" has been convicted of a sex attack on a teenage girl.

Gerard Costa was prowling the streets after a night at a casino on Clydeside last September.

He eventually spotted a 19-year-old walking alone and pounced on her in a darkened lane. Costa denied the attack, claiming he had been too drunk to try for sex.

But following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow a jury found him guilty of assaulting the teenager with intent to rape. The 24-year-old now faces a lengthy jail term and possible deportation to his original home in India.

The trial heard the victim had been out with friends on 2 September, but left them at about 5:30am to check a bus timetable.

Costa, of the city's Shawlands, stopped her and briefly chatted before he lifted her up as if "cradling a baby". He then put her down but made her walk with him to nearby Midland Lane. He indecently assaulted the girl while she was on the ground before she managed to escape from him.

Costa was later arrested after a media appeal to catch the attacker. He was detained while working as a waiter at the city's Hilton Hotel.

When questioned by police, Costa denied he had been with a girl, claiming he had been at home when the incident happened.

Costa – who studied nautical science at Glasgow Nautical College – later claimed that when he met the girl they kissed and it was her suggestion to go to the lane.

His friend John Ferguson told the jury that Costa had claimed during their night out that he was "going for a hooker". Mr Ferguson said he found the comment "sinister", but Costa said it was a joke.

Prosecutor Laura Thomson later put it to Costa: "You saw her (the girl] and were attracted to her. She was alone and vulnerable. You had no money for a prostitute and decided you could get what you wanted for free." Costa denied it.

Judge John Beckett, QC, remanded Costa in custody and deferred sentencing to next month.