Teen girl's 'life stopped' after being raped by man who picked her up at Aberdeen taxi rank

A man who raped a 14-year-old girl after picking her up at a taxi rank in Aberdeen has appealed against his jail sentence.

Victor Popa, 35, attacked the stranded girl in the early hours of January 15, 2023.

He was jailed for 12 years in March and had his name added to the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Popa went to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh earlier this year in a bid to have the length of his 12-year sentence reduced.

His lawyer Colin Neilson argued that the sentence given to him was too long, given the circumstances of the offence – a submission rejected by appeal judges Lord Braid and his colleague Lord Matthews.

However, in a written judgement published on Friday, Lord Braid revealed for the first time the details of a victim impact statement provided to the court by the complainer in the case.

The court heard how the teenager said her life “stopped” aged 14 and that she had attempted suicide.

Lord Braid wrote of how she has been forced to use mental health support services to deal with complex psychological conditions.

He wrote: “In her victim statement, to which the trial judge did have regard as she was obliged to, the complainer vividly describes the effect which the offence has had on her life.

“The effects of the physical injuries lasted for months.

“In July 2023, six months after the rape, she made an attempt on her own life, requiring admission to hospital.

“Since then, she has attended CAMHS, as well as a rape crisis group.

“A pre-existing eating disorder was exacerbated, such that she again required hospital admission, around the date when the first trial diet called.

“She still suffers from the emotional and mental impact of the offence.

“She constantly thinks about it. She felt humiliated by the tests she had to undergo.

“Her education has suffered, and she has fallen behind her peers.

“She has been diagnosed as suffering from complex PTSD, anxiety and depression. She requires to take sleeping medication.

“She had no longer been able to go out socially, although she recently managed a shopping trip on the day after the appellant was remanded in custody.

“She no longer wants a child of her own, for fear she might have a girl who might one day suffer the same fate as her.

“She concludes by expressing the sentiment that her entire life stopped at 14.”

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Popa subjected the “very drunk” girl to a sex assault in Aberdeen city centre on January 15, 2023.

A jury heard how the young girl had been out drinking with friends and had become separated from them.

Jurors heard how the girl wanted to go home and tried to get a taxi at a rank in the city centre, but there were none available.

Popa, of Aberdeen, pulled up in his car, and she thought he was a taxi driver.

The court heard how Popa – who wasn’t a taxi driver – offered to take her home.

But he drove to a car park in the city’s Tillydrone area, and when she was intoxicated and unconscious, he subjected her to a sexual assault.

The court heard how Popa then raped her.

Popa was brought to justice after police became aware of his actions. They launched an investigation and gathered enough evidence to arrest him and bring him to court.

Officers gathered CCTV evidence to corroborate the girl’s account of what happened to her.

She had told officers how she had told Popa she was 14 years old; she said she told Popa that she was really drunk and didn’t have any money.

But the court heard that Popa agreed to take her home and that she got into his car and “blanked out”.

The court heard that Popa went to school in Romania but started to live in the UK in 2015. He moved to Aberdeen the following year and has worked in hotels, as a roofer and as a delivery driver.

Popa denied any wrongdoing and claimed the child told him she was 18 and that the sex was consensual.

Last week, Mr Neilson challenged the punishment imposed on him in a sentence appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh, but appeal judges Lord Matthews and Lord Braid refused the appeal.

Lord Braid said the offence involved a significant breach of trust, and Popa did not disabuse the teenager of her notion that he was a taxi driver.

At the time, the judge said: “It is highly significant that the complainer was only 14 years old at the time of the offence when she was repeatedly raped.”

He said that the sentence imposed on Popa for the crime sat within the range for such offences and added: “While severe, it is not so excessive as to give rise to a miscarriage of justice.”

The judgment was published on Friday as an explanation as to why Popa’s appeal was refused.