New Stevenston rapist jailed

Gareth Robertson,28, smelled the feet and socks of a woman he repeatedly raped and grabbed, held and stared at the feet of another woman he sexually assaulted.

One victim told the High Court in Edinburgh that she tried to pull away from him and called him “a beast” but he acted like she was not there.She said: “His eyes were staring into space. It was as if for him the room was empty until he finished.”

The court heard that Robertson would “sneak” into a victim’s bedroom at a house in Edinburgh and perform a sex act over her feet.

Robertson had denied a string of charges during a trial but was found guilty of seven offences, including the rape of a teenage girl, the attempted rape and sexual assault of another woman.

He was also convicted of carrying out sexual activity in the presence of children, assaulting a woman with a glass bottle and showing a video containing indecent images of himself to two women.

All the offences occurred at addresses in Edinburgh between 2012 and 2017.

On Wednesday, judge Lord Pentland told Robertson that the only appropriate sentence was custody. He also ordered him to be supervised by the authorities for three years following his release from prison. Passing sentence, Lord Pentland said: “You have serious difficulty in controlling aspects of your sexual conduct and are liable to behave in an uncontrolled and disturbing manner.

“The criminal justice social work error explains that you continue to deny the present offences and that you have no empathy for your victims. 

“I am entirely satisfied in view of the nature of these offences your attitude towards them, your record of previous offending and the risk that you present to women that an extended sentence is necessary for the protection of the public.”Robertson was convicted of rape and sexual assault charges following high court proceedings last month.

 On that occasion, the court heard that Robertson, of Quarry Street , had previous convictions for assaultThe court heard that Robertson subjected a 17-year-old girl to rape ordeals in the city between February 2013 and February the following year,During attacks she was threatened and he demanded sex. he repeatedly grabbed her feet, struggled with her and smelled her socks and feet.

The woman’s sister, who is now 26, said Robertson also sent her a message on Facebook but she told him to “f--- off”. She said he also sent her an explicit video.

Another woman, now aged 31, was sexually assaulted by him at houses in the city while she was asleep and at times when she awoke with him carrying out a sex act on himself, seizing her feet and holding and smelling her feet.

The woman was also subjected to a rape bid by him when he exposed himself to her during an assault. She was also hit on the body by him with a glass bottle when she was pregnant.

In her closing speech to jurors, advocate depute Lisa Gillespie said it was clear the victim “did not like his foot fetish”.The prosecutor said Robertson had persistently pursued a course of criminal conduct which had a “striking and unusual feature this obsession with feet”.

Robertson was acquitted of further sexual assaults against another woman

On Wednesday, defence advocate Drew McKenzie told Lord Pentland that he was unable to say much on Robertson’s behalf as he continued to maintain he was innocent of any wrong doing.

 Mr McKenzie also said his client accepted he was going to be sent to jail and promised to co-operate with the authorities. Mr McKenzie added: “He has indicated a willingness to engage in behaviour related programmes which are made available to him by the authorities.”Lord Pentland told Robertson he’d remain on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.