Falkirk man who picked up stranger before raping her is jailed

A rapist who picked up a vulnerable woman in his car before subjecting her to a horrifying sex attack was jailed for seven years today (Wednesday).
Garry Strang was sentenced at the High Court in EdinburghGarry Strang was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh
Garry Strang was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh

Garry Strang assaulted the victim with a sex toy and raped her after taking her to his home address in Bruce Street, Falkirk.

A judge told Strang (49) that the woman he subjected to the attack was “plainly intoxicated” at the time.

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Lord Arthurson pointed out that the victim was a stranger to Strang until she got into his car.

Strang had denied raping the woman on March 19 in 2016 but was convicted of the offence by a jury last year which rejected his claim of consent.

Lord Arthurson told Strang, who sat in the dock at the High Court in Edinburgh with his hands clasped in prayer, that he was found guilty of “an extremely serious charge”.

During the assault Strang struck the 30-year-old woman, who was so intoxicated she could not give consent, on the head and body, pinned her down and pulled down her lower clothing.

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The judge told the rapist, who was previously jailed for six years for drugs offences, that he would be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. The court was told that he was assessed as posing a medium risk of sexual offending.

Defence counsel Margaret Breslin said: “This is certainly a conviction which is way off beam for him.”

She added Strang had no previous convictions for sexual offending.

She said Strang suffered from ADHD and received medication for the condition. He had also suffered tragedy in his personal life after a son was stillborn and his partner died.

She said: “He is still suffering from the effects of both of these particular tragedies.”

The defence counsel told the court: “He is aware he will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment.”