A woman brutally raped in an Aberdeen city centre park has welcomed her attacker’s 10-year sentence – and revealed he had shattered her dreams of becoming a police officer.
Alasdair McDonald grabbed Katie Johnston – who has waived her anonymity to encourage other rape victims to come forward – while she sat on a bench, texting a friend in Union Terrace Gardens.
He dragged the then 21-year-old into the bushes and carried out a horrific rape – causing the “worst internal injuries” a police surgeon had ever seen.
A massive inquiry was launched, spanning 18 months, with specialist officers drafted in from the national rape investigation unit to assist.
Yesterday, McDonald was jailed for 10 years for the “abhorrent” attack. He will also be under supervision for three years following his release, and has been put on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Last night, Miss Johnston said the longer McDonald was behind bars, away from other people, the better.
The 23-year-old said: “I think 10 years is brilliant, I was told to expect six or seven years for this type of crime.
“The longer he spends away from other people, so he doesn’t have the opportunity to do this again, the better.
“It’s a massive relief to know that he’s not walking about free.”
McDonald grabbed Miss Johnston, forced her to the ground, repeatedly struck her on the head, restricted her breathing by seizing her nose then dragged her into the bushes and raped her at about 3am on January 28, 2016.
The 49-year-old had admitted sexually assaulting the student, but denied raping her.
However, a jury at the High Court in Glasgow did not believe him and found him guilty – after hearing that police had tied him to the crime through DNA evidence.
And at the sentencing hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday, judge Lord Arthurson told McDonald that the attack has had a “profound and traumatic impact” on Miss Johnston.
He said: “I have had the opportunity to consider a victim impact statement in this case.
“It is plain to me that your crime, which upon your conviction I described to you as abhorrent has had a profound and traumatic impact upon your victim.
“As she has expressed matters herself ‘The crime has scared me to my very core – I think about what happened that night every single day and the individual who did this to me has left me with an overwhelming feeling of sadness and emptiness.’”
Miss Johnston was studying at the Robert Gordon University when the attack happened, and had hoped to join the police.
But last night, she revealed that when she had applied last year, she had been knocked back due to a lack of confidence.
And she admitted that the attack has had a long-lasting impact on her, adding: “I don’t really go out anymore. I now don’t drink as I don’t like being in that frame of mind.
“I don’t like being in crowds and generally am just more aware of the situation and people around me.”
However, Miss Johnston is determined to move on and help others – and has now been accepted to start a nursing course in September.
In the meantime, she will be speaking at Police Scotland’s training college at Tulliallan next month.
“I’ve been asked to speak at Police Scotland college to give tips to future liason officers to make them aware of some of things victims will be going through,” she said.
“My liason officers were great, they kept me updated and phoned every few weeks just to check in on me.
“I just want other people, other survivors of these types of crimes, to realise that they are not alone.”
