A married barman who attacked and raped a teenager close to a popular Oban music and wedding venue was jailed for five years today.
Anouar Ben Said, 36, forced the victim to the ground, pulled down her clothing and molested her during the ordeal at an area of ground near the Corran Halls car park.
Off-duty hotel worker Ben Said struck after the 19-year-old left a bar where she had met colleagues for drinks on August 31 in 2021.
After the sex attack, the distraught teenager was found in a state of distress.
Ben Said was convicted of the offence last month after a trial during which he had denied committing rape.
A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You were found guilty after trial of a single charge of raping the complainer in a public area of ground behind the Corran Halls in Oban.”
Rapist still insists he’s innocent
Lord Weir said: “The jury, by its verdict, did not accept your explanation that what occurred was of consent.”
The judge told North African Ben Said that it was “a very serious offence”.
He added: “A sentence of imprisonment is the necessary consequence of that verdict.”
Lord Weir noted that the sex offender continued to maintain his innocence.
Defence counsel Andrew Crosbie told the court: “There are protective factors in so far as he is in a relationship.”
“His wife and children live in England and she has asked to be notified of the outcome straight away.”
Ben Said, who was latterly living in Blackpool, was told he would be on the sex offenders’ register for an indefinite period following his sentencing.
