Care home manager raped colleague and sexually assaulted two others

A nurse who raped a colleague and sexually assaulted two more has been jailed for almost eight years.

Naijil Paul was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow, having been extradited from India to face justice.

The 47-year-old – then a manager at a care home in Lanarkshire – ordered the victim to “do what I want” or she would lose her job.

Paul had earlier admitted to the crimes at a hearing in October.

The court heard on Monday that – despite his guilty pleas – he had shown “quite a degree of victim blaming” in a pre-sentencing report and even claimed he thought he was doing one of the women “a favour”.

Lord Renucci jailed him for a total of seven years and nine months.

He will be supervised for a further two years on his release.

Paul will be on the sex offenders list for life. He is also banned from going near any of the victims.

The court heard that Paul entered the victim’s office in 2018, while she was alone and closed the door.

He told her that she was at risk of losing her job due to the amount of time she had off due to being unwell.

Paul further stated that he was aware of her financial problems and that she could be evicted from her home with her children.

He told her to “do what I want” and referred to a sex act, then stated: “Your job would be safe.”

Paul proceeded to rape the woman and threatened her not to tell anyone about what had happened or her job would be at risk.

The victim then went off sick again and did not tell anyone what happened until a police probe into Paul’s offending.

The hearing was told about a 19-year-old care assistant who was also preyed upon. Paul placed his hands on her hips and tried to kiss her.

Two weeks later, Paul moved the woman’s hand in an effort to pull it towards an intimate area of his body.

The teenager was stated to be “shaken and at a loss for words”.

In February 2018, Paul grabbed the waistband of her trousers and said: “I just want to see what kind of underwear you are wearing.”

The court further heard how a 21-year-old care assistant was asked by Paul if she was “serious” about her boyfriend.

He put his hand on her shoulder and waist, then stated: “I know you want it. I can tell by your body language.”

On another occasion, Paul tried to kiss her before he was shoved away. Later that day, he molested the woman.

She told another colleague that she was “frightened” that she would lose her job if she complained.

Paul was due to stand trial in 2019, but he did not appear, and a warrant was granted for his arrest.

He fled to Kochi in India, later claiming his father had been ill.

Paul was arrested in February this year and extradited to Scotland from Delhi.

He admitted charges of rape and two charges of sexual assault.

The sentence was cut from eight years due to the guilty plea.

Lord Renucci told Paul: “On each occasion, you were in a position of power.

“In addition to the serious and predatory nature of your offending, notwithstanding the fact you pled guilty, the version of events given by you bears little resemblance to what you have admitted to.”

The judge said this even went as far as describing the rape as a “sexual encounter” which was “consensual”.

Lord Renucci went on to state the offences were “planned and deliberate”.