A man who went on the run for a year after being convicted of attempted rape in Aberdeen has been jailed.
Zdenko Salaj stalked his young victim as she walked home from the city centre before pouncing on her in the streets of Aberdeen University’s campus.
Throughout the ordeal his victim, who can not be named for legal reasons, thought her life was in danger and was convinced she was going to be raped.
And Salaj was only stopped when a passer-by heard her screams and came to her aid, causing him to flee.
The 50-year-old had denied committing the offence on June 28, 2014, but a jury unanimously convicted him in his absence after he left the country on the final day of his trial.
Yesterday Salaj appeared back in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court to be sentenced having been arrested on a European search warrant.
Representing Salaj, solicitor Peter Keene said his client was not avoiding being sentenced but had merely left to be with his family in Slovakia as he had been worried about them.
But Sheriff Annella Cowan, who had presided over the case, did not believe his excuse.
She said: “The jury found you guilty, unanimously, of a violent sexual assault on a young woman walking home along the main street of this city.
“You accept no responsibility. Not only that but you feel that you are a victim in this matter and it has ruined your health.
“The affect on the woman was serious and long lasting. She was in fear of her life during the attack and fully expected to be raped. She was only saved by further trauma by the intervention of a total stranger.
“You were traced by determined police officers whose detailed evidence helped to bring you to justice”.
Sheriff Cowan said she did not understand why the case against Salaj, of 8 Donside Court, Aberdeen, had not been heard at the high court given her limited sentencing powers.
She sentenced him to four years in prison followed by a three year extended sentence.
He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
