A serial rapist branded a “sexual fiend” had his minimum jail term reduced by appeal judges yesterday.
John MacIntosh was originally sentenced to a discretionary life sentence and ordered to serve at least 10 years in prison.
But MacIntosh, 48, formerly of Dingwall, challenged the sentence and it was decided the original life term could not stand.
His counsel Claire Mitchell argued that judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh could deal with MacIntosh by imposing an extended sentence – involving a determinate jail sentence and a further period of supervision. Reports prepared on the sex offender considered that he was a high risk, but Miss Mitchell maintained it was not necessary for the court to impose an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) on him.
Under an OLR the court imposes a minimum term to be served, known as a punishment part, but the offender would only be released when the parole board considers he no longer poses a threat to the community.
The Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian, sitting with Lord Menzies and Lord Drummond Young, said they could not agree with the submission that MacIntosh’s risk could be adequately managed through an extended sentence.
The judges imposed an OLR on him, but ordered that he must serve a seven-year minimum period in jail before he becomes eligible to apply for parole.
Lady Dorrian said they would give reasons in detail in writing for their decision in due course.
MacIntosh was found guilty of raping three women and sexually assaulting and attempting to rape a nine year old girl. The offences occurred in the Inverness and Dingwall areas between 1996 and 2004.
He had previously been jailed for having sex with girls aged 13 and 14.
The judge who jailed him for the rapes, Lord Uist, told him: “You targeted vulnerable females in order to gratify your carnal lust.”
“You have called all these women liars and show no remorse for what you did. It is clear to me that you have no respect for women and are a sexual fiend,” he said.
