Rapist fled home in bath robe after teenage victim's boyfriend confronted him

A rapist fled his home in a Rangers bathrobe moments after being confronted by his victim’s boyfriend, a court heard.

John Bell, 53, sexually assaulted the 19-year-old woman at his home in High Valleyfield, Fife, on May 31, 2024.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Bell forced the young woman to have sex with him.

The court heard that Bell’s victim told her partner who confronted the assailant about his actions.

A jury heard the contents of a statement which the male provided to police about the attack during a three-day trial at the court.

The man told police that his girlfriend was distressed when he spoke to her in the immediate aftermath of the incident.

He said: “She was hysterical. She was crying. She could barely speak. She was very upset.”

The man told police that she eventually confided in him that Bell had raped her.

The jury heard the male told detectives: “I ran up to him and i said to him, ‘what the f**k have you done? You raped her’.’

“He was wearing a blue robe, a Rangers one and he left the house and got into his orange Range Rover and drove off.

“I was going to hit him. He was a bit scared.”

The story emerged during proceedings which were presided over by judge Michael O’Grady KC.

Bell pled not guilty to a charge of rape at the start of proceedings and lodged a special defence in which he stated he had sex with the woman but it was consensual.

During proceedings, the woman spoke about how she felt in the aftermath of the attack.

She said: “I felt sick. I felt scared.”

The woman confided in her boyfriend. The court also heard that she also confided in her mother in the hours after the attack.

Giving evidence to the court, her mum told prosecutor David Hay KC: “She was distraught.”

Bell said he had consensual sex but felt “guilty and ashamed” after the encounter.

Jurors returned on Thursday afternoon and returned a non-unanimous guilty verdict to a charge of rape.

Mr Hay told the court that Bell had previous convictions for theft by housebreaking and assault to severe injury.

Defence advocate Louis Bendle told judge O’Grady that his client was in poor health and was suffering from cancer. He asked for Mr Bell’s bail to be continued.

However, judge O’Grady remanded Bell, who wept loudly following the verdict, in custody and called for a report on the accused’s background to be prepared for court.

Judge O’Grady added: “Rape is one of the gravest crimes this court has to deal with.

“It is grave because for the victim it involves not just the most intimate violation but also humiliation and distress which linger long after the act and which indeed can cast a shadow over the rest of a woman’s life.

“This attack on this young woman may have been opportunistic but it was contemptuous and cruel.

“She was a guest in your home and was entitled to feel safe there but that trust she placed in you and used and abused her just because it suited you.

“You treated her as no more than an object for the satisfaction of your desires.

“You will understand a crime of this nature is bound to attract a significant custodial sentence.”

Judge O’Grady also placed Bell on the Sex Offenders Register.

He will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on April 30, 2026.