A victim-blaming rapist who spent more than a decade subjecting a woman to repeated rapes and sexual assaults has been jailed for eight years.
Alastair Coote, 61, assaulted the female, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between April 2008 and June 2022 at locations in Inverness and Ross-shire,.
Coote, a prisoner of HMP Inverness, was convicted on charges of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting the woman at a trial earlier this year.
Judge Lord Renucci deferred sentence on Coote to obtain a report on his background and the accused appeared, via video link, on Friday at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Defence advocate Colin Neilson told Lord Renucci that his client maintained he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
‘He is a good and loyal friend’
The lawyer also submitted a number of character references to the court detailing what some people thought about Coote.
He added: “He has led a good productive life. He is a good and loyal friend.”
Lord Renucci told Coote that he had to go to prison for his crimes.
He added: “It is clear from the terms of the Criminal Justice Social Work Report that you show no remorse for your actions and demonstrate little insight into what you have done.
“You seek to blame your victim. There is only one person to blame for your predicament and that is yourself.
“There is no alternative to a significant custodial sentence given the serious nature and number of charges involved.”
Coote was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.