A sex attacker was jailed for more than three years today after his victim recorded him claiming he was disgusted with himself for what he had done.
Ian McLaren indecently assaulted the woman before suddenly stopping and said: “What am I doing, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”
The 31-year-old victim fled to a bathroom after the attack and was sick following the sex crime at a house in Fraserburgh.
She revealed to a nurse the following day she had been assaulted and was advised to contact the police, but the woman declined saying she did not believe she would be taken seriously because of her drug use.
Months later she ran into McLaren by chance in Fraserburgh and activated the record button on her mobile phone as she approached him.
She brought up the sexual assault and questioned him over it in an attempt to get him to admit what he had done.
During the recorded conversation McLaren said he did not want her to feel horrible about it but he could not change it or do anything about it now.
He said he was disgusted with himself and stated he did not know how many times to say sorry.
The woman said she took “Dutch courage” from the voice recording and the following month reported it to the police in June 2014.
McLaren, formerly of Fourglen Crescent, Turriff, was detained and questioned by officers. During the interview he gave “no comment” responses to the allegations.
But after the tape recording was stopped he said he had sexually assaulted the woman and felt awful.
He added that he had smoked as much crack cocaine as possible and snapped, but had stopped as soon as he realised what he was doing.
McLaren (55) was originally charged with raping the woman at a house in Fraserburgh on July 4 in 2013.
But the Crown accepted his guilty plea to a reduced charge of sexually assaulting the woman by molesting her and threatening violence.
A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh jailed him for three years and two months for the offence.
Lord Boyd of Duncansby told him that he acknowledged the restricted terms of his plea, but added: “The offence is still a serious one.”
Lord Boyd told him that he had seen a victim impact statement from the woman and said he hoped that McLaren would have an opportunity to read it.
The judge said that he would have jailed McLaren for three and a half years for the sex crime, but for his guilty plea.court heard that the woman had fallen asleep at the house fully clothed, but early in the morning woke up and realised McLaren was smoking pipes of crack.
She felt him slide his hand up her thigh but pushed it away. She said Mclaren appeared to have a “sort of possessed look” on his face.
He climbed on top of her and pinned her down with his body weight and took off his trousers telling to keep quiet and he would not hurt her before carrying out the sex attack.
Defence counsel Drew McKenzie said that McLaren now realised it was “time at his age to rid himself of drugs”.
Mr McKenzie added: “He would seem to be motivated to make changes.”
McLaren was placed on the sex offenders’ register.