A terrifying sex attacker who tried to rape a young woman after he followed her home from a supermarket has been jailed for four years.
Wayne Stewart sexually assaulted and robbed the 21-year-old woman in her Inverness home after he followed her as she returned from Tesco and forced his way into her flat.
The 42-year-old put his victim in a headlock and dragged her into a bedroom before putting a hand over her nose and mouth, restricting her breathing.
During the struggle, he grabbed her mobile phone and threw it before pulling up her skirt.
She told a 999 call hander “He was trying to rape me” and said she tried to struggle with him but he was “way too strong”.
Neighbours of the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were alerted to her plight after hearing her screams.
Stood trial at High Court
Stewart, of Inverness, was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh last September of sexually assaulting the victim with intent to rape her during the attack on March 13 last year after entering her home uninvited.
He was also found guilty of robbing the woman of her handbag, bank cards and contents at her flat during the incident.
Stewart, currently a prisoner in HMP Inverness, had denied assaulting the woman with intent to rape her. He claimed he had been trying to rob her.
During a trial earlier this year, jurors heard a recording of a 999 call that the woman made to the police.
The jurors heard her say: “He was trying to rape me – to take advantage of me.”
‘He tried to take my skirt up’
The court heard how the woman had gone to a Tesco store for pasta and washing detergent but said the intruder had followed her as she returned home and forced entry to her flat.
She said: “As I was walking he started following me.”
She said he pushed her and tried to close the door of her flat.
“He tried to take my skirt up and tried to take advantage of me,” she told the call operator.
She said she struggled with her attacker, who was wearing a hoodie, but he was “way too strong”. She said luckily neighbours had heard her.
After police arrived she was taken to be examined by a doctor and the injuries she had sustained were photographed.
Prosecutor Stewart Ronnie told Lord Harrower that a victim impact statement had been prepared by the woman for the court.
‘You subjected her to a terrifying crime’
Appearing for sentencing via videolink to the High Court in Edinburgh, Stewart was told a custodial sentence being imposed was inevitable.
Judge Lord Harrower told him: “You subjected her to a terrifying crime.
“You claimed that you were not trying to sexually assault her but you were trying to rob her.
“The jury was entitled to convict you of the crime that you acted with the intent to rape the complainer.
“The devastating psychological impact on the complainer is narrated in the victim impact statement.
“Given the gravity of the crime and the need to protect the public from you, there is no other alternative sentence to custody in these circumstances.”
Lord Harrower jailed Stewart for four years and also placed him on the sex offenders register.