Security guard stopped man trying to rape woman in lane

A man who led a vulnerable woman into a city centre lane to rape her has been jailed for four years after a security guard stopped him.

Olaksandr Dupik, 34, who arrived in the UK under the Ukrainian refugee scheme, admitted attempting to rape the woman on November 23 last year at Thistle Street North East Lane in Edinburgh.

The court heard that the woman was on a night out with a friend and ended up in a city centre bar where she met Dupik.

She could not recall leaving the venue and said her next memory was of “being in the dark lying on cobbled stones”.

Dupik left the bar with the woman, and the security guard, who was working at a private office, noticed them because the woman appeared highly intoxicated, and it seemed Dupik was holding her up.

He noticed the woman was “flopping about” and saw her fall against shutters. He contacted a supervisor to tell him of his concerns.

Dupik led the woman into the lane, and she fell onto the cobbles on the roadway. He helped her to her feet, and she sat on the pavement where he kissed her and touched her.

She fell back on the pavement, but Dupik picked her up and put her over an electricity box before going on to try to rape her.

The woman tried to strike him away with her hands.

The concerned security guard left his office and was at the corner of the lane when he heard the victim say “ouch” and “no”. He walked into the lane and saw the sex attacker and the woman and said, “What the f***”, which prompted Dupik to flee.

The security guard went to the aid of the woman who was lying on the pavement and she said: “I think I’ve been sexually assaulted.”

Lady Drummond said at the High Court in Edinburgh: “The only thing that stopped you in your attempts was the vigilance and thoughtfulness of a security guard.

“It was only on hearing him shout at you that you stopped and ran off.”

The judge said: “The security guard is to be commended for the actions he took out of concern and care towards the complainer. Had he not interrupted you, I have no doubt you would have persisted in your behaviour.”

Lady Drummond was shown CCTV footage of events in the lead-up to the attempted rape in Edinburgh’s New Town.

The judge said: “It is obvious to anyone viewing that footage that the woman was in a highly intoxicated and vulnerable state.”

Police were alerted and they spoke with the victim who was slurring her speech and unable to stand without assistance. Dupik was arrested in the early hours of the morning and later claimed that there was consensual kissing with the woman but no sexual activity.

Defence counsel Wendy Culross said Dupik was a first offender with no history of sexual offending. She said he had a difficult background and poor mental health.

Dupik, who has been in custody since November last year, was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. The judge made a non harassment order prohibiting from contacting or attempting to contact the victim.

“You had never met her until that night, and it must have been obvious to you that she was intoxicated and incapable of consenting to any sexual activity,” she told Dupik.

Lady Drummond said: “She can be seen on the footage having to be held up by others out of concern for her wellbeing, yet you, knowing her vulnerable state, walked her down a dark and isolated lane and attempted to rape her.”

The judge told Dupik that he would have faced a sentence of five and a half years’ imprisonment, but that would be reduced following his guilty plea.