A married barman who raped a teenage girl in bushes near a popular Oban music and wedding venue has been jailed.
Anouar Ben Said, 36, pounced on his 19-year-old victim after she had left a pub six hours after meeting colleagues for drinks.
The disgusting predator attacked the terrified young woman in bushes near the car park of The Corran Halls in the early hours of August 13th 2021.
A jury at the High Court in Stirling was told that the off-duty hotel worker put his hand over the victim’s mouth, removed her clothing and raped her – leaving behind his DNA.
The sex offender from Tunisia went on trial after pleading not guilty to rape – claiming the sex was consensual – but prosecutor David Logan described the ordeal as “a nightmare”.
Anouar Ben Said was living in Oban at the time of the ‘nightmare’ rape
Jurors didn’t believe Ben Said as they heard evidence over a three-day trial.
Witnesses told the court they had seen the teenage girl come “sprinting” out of the bushes “screaming” or crying.
She received scratches to her face from twigs and branches as she fled through the undergrowth.
The stricken young woman collapsed “distraught” when she found people she knew in the car park and later spoke of what had happened.
Judge Lord Weir told jurors they were entitled to take evidence of her distress into account.
Ben Said jailed for the rape near The Corran Halls in Oban
The jury of eight men and seven women took under three hours to find Ben Said guilty of rape.
They reached the verdict unanimously.
Lord Weir revoked bail and deferred sentence until January 12 next year at the High Court in Edinburgh.
He told Ben Said he had been found guilty of “a very serious and concerning rape”.
Andrew Crosbie, defending the now-convicted criminal, reserved mitigation for the sentencing hearing in the new year.
