Three men were today jailed for a total of 13 years for raping a woman they met in a nightclub.
Nerijus Radavicius, 29 and Justinas Gubinas, 22, were convicted of a concerted rape of the 32-year-old woman and filming it on a mobile phone.
Their co-accused Ovidijus Kavaliauskas, 22, was found guilty of raping the woman while she was asleep.
The offences took place in a farmhouse in Fraserburgh, where the three accused were staying, on November 1, 2014.
Yesterday at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Armstrong jailed all three for four years and four months each.
He told them: “The crime of which you were convicted – rape – is a grave crime against which all women should be protected.”
All three Lithuanian men were placed on the sex offenders’ register. Kavaliauskas and Gubinas are first offenders.
They were convicted after trial at the High Court in Aberdeen. Jurors there heard that the accused met the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at a nightclub.
She agreed to go back to their house.
All three denied rape and claimed that the woman had consented to sex with them.
Advocate George Gebbie, representing Gubinas, said: “His position has not changed. He claims it was consensual.”
Advocate Dale Hughes, representing Radavicius, said: “My client said he thought it was consensual. At one point she was talking about ‘getting it on.’”
Advocate Derick Nelson, representing Kavaliauskas, said: “He has shown remorse and regret. He had intercourse with the woman. He says this was while she was almost asleep and in his opinion she was fully consenting. The jury didn’t agree with him.”
Following their sentence at the High Court in Glasgow, Detective Inspector John Swanney of the police’s public protection unit paid tribute to the victim involved for speaking out about her ordeal.
“This incident was extremely traumatic for the victim and having to relive it in court will have been very distressing,” he said.
“The strength and courage she has shown during the inquiry and subsequent proceedings has enabled the case to be brought before the courts and led to the sentences delivered today. I hope that she can move on with her life as best as she can in the knowledge that these men have been brought to justice for the crimes they committed and received significant custodial sentences.
“The investigation of crimes of indecency is a priority for Police Scotland and I would encourage anyone who has or knows of anyone who has been the victim of sexual assault or rape to report it to us.
“With our partner agencies, we will provide support to victims and will work hard to ensure that offenders are brought before the courts and have to face the consequences of their actions, such as in today’s case.”
