A man has been found guilty of a brutal abduction and gunpoint rape following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Nathan Sim, 20, was convicted of donning a black balaclava and pulling an imitation handgun on his 18-year-old victim, who believed he was being given a place to sleep after he missed his bus home.
Sim then subjected him to a prolonged and violent abduction and rape, which lasted until the early hours of the morning.
It was stated that, following the rape, Sim also forced the teenager into a shower to destroy forensic evidence.
A jury of eight men and seven women took just over three hours to find Sim guilty of one charge of abduction and a second charge of rape.
Prison sentence is ‘inevitable’
As the verdict was handed down, Judge Graham Buchanan warned Sim that he was certain to face prison for his horrific crimes.
“You have been convicted of very serious charges indeed,” the judge said.
“It is inevitable that in due course you will receive a sentence involving custody.
“What the sentence will be, will be determined in the fullness of time once all the relevant reports have been obtained.”
Judge Buchanan remanded Sim in custody until his sentencing hearing later this month.
He also placed Sim on the sex offenders register.
During the trial, jurors heard disturbing testimony from Sim’s victim, who said his attacker wore a black balaclava and beat him with the butt of the gun, which he believed to be real.
He stated that he repeatedly “begged” Sim to stop, but that his rapist seemed to “enjoy” watching him suffer.
“I didn’t know if I was getting out or not – I was really scared,” he told the jury.
“[Sim] said he wouldn’t let me out because he thought I would go to the police.”
The man said Sim filmed the assault on his mobile phone as he pleaded with him to stop, to which he replied: “I don’t care”.
“I felt at that point my whole manhood was ripped away from me,” the victim said.
He told jurors that Sim then sexually assaulted and orally raped him during a horrific ordeal that lasted more than six hours.
The man stated that Sim forced him into a shower on two occasions to wash his body and destroy any potential evidence of his crimes.
“He took my dignity,” the witness added.
‘I went too far’
On the second day of the trial, the jury heard evidence from two social workers who claimed Sim had made a jail cell confession prior to his first court appearance.
One of them, Brett Morrison, said Sim told him he had “really f***** up this time,” adding: “I went too far I think”.
Mr Morrison said Sim was “scared” he would go to prison and was “pleading in desperation” due to the “perilous” situation he found himself in.
“He said he had really f***** up this young person and they didn’t deserve it,” Mr Morrison said.
The social worker also claimed Sim made a “penetration symbol” with his hand and forefinger.
Advocate depute Naomei Warner put it to Sim that, following his arrest, he was “upset” and “wanted to talk about what had happened” with Mr Morrison and his colleague Kristin Meyer.
However, as he gave evidence in his own defence, Sim denied making the hand gesture and told Ms Warner the social workers had gotten “the wrong idea”.
Sim claimed the sex with the teenager was consensual.
Sim will be sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen on August 29.
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