Nurse denies raping prisoners

Yesterday (Wednesday), Peter Barrowman (35), from Stenhousemuir, was asked if he had any kind of sexual contact with any of the three women who were serving sentences at the jail and replied: “No I did not.”

He was then asked if he had raped any of the women and said: “I did not.”

When asked why these women would make up allegations against him, he said: “Possibly financial reasons or to gain access to more medication, but I don’t know.”

Barrowman, who worked at Corton Vale prison, was then asked by solicitor advocate Liam Ewing, representing him, how he felt about the allegations and replied: “Angry, confused and scared.”

He was asked by prosecutor Rosemary Guinnane: “Are you saying all these women are motivated by compensation?” and Barrowman replied: “I don’t know. I don’t know why they are doing this.”

It was suggested to him it was a bit unlikely they had got together to make up a story and Barrowman replied: “They talked to each other in prison. They would all have heard rumours.”

Miss Guinnane then said: “Are you saying for no reason they came into court and lied about what you did to them,” to which Barrowman replied: “They have lied, yes.”

Barrowman told the jury that he was sacked from the jail last July after being suspended since March 2014. He is also suspended by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

At the close of the Crown case Miss Guinnane withdrew the charges of supplying drugs to prisoners Barrowman faced and he was acquitted of those charges by Judge Sean Murphy.

Earlier in the trial at the High Court in Glasgow one of his accusers (28) claimed Barrowman had sex with her during a counselling session in the prison.

Another woman (26) claims she was raped by the 35-year-old in a doctor’s room, and that she “didn’t have much energy” because of the medication she was on.

The third alleged victim (28) told Miss Guinnane that in March 2014 she was summoned to the psychiatrist’s room in the health centre by Barrowman where he kissed her and had sex with her, despite her telling him “no”.

Barrowman denies raping three women between January and March 2014. The case continues.