A predator who raped three women including one living at a homeless shelter and attempted to sexually assault another has been jailed for 14 years.
Barry Ingleson, 38, carried out numerous sick sex attacks on his four victims between August 2009 and August 2020 at various addresses in Edinburgh. A jury was unanimous in finding him guilty of 10 charges against the four women following the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.
The charges included five charges of rape to injury and an assault against one woman, an attempted sexual assault against a second woman, and the rapes of two others. He was also found guilty of one count of threatening behaviour.
Jurors heard that Ingleson carried out "opportunistic and predatory" attacks. In one attack on his first victim, he placed a mask over her mouth and a bag over her head, causing her to lose consciousness.
Another of his victims had been living in a homeless hostel and had been "extremely vulnerable" at the time of the attack. Reports prepared for the court concluded that Ingleson had been "dismissive" of the women he preyed on and had been assessed as having a high risk of reoffending.
Lawyers acting for the fiend accepted that the offences were "crimes of great enormity" but told the court that Ingleson continued to maintain his innocence. In mitigation, they said that he had experienced a "traumatic childhood" and had ongoing mental health difficulties.
But sentencing Ingleson at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday, Lord Arthurson said he could not impose a standard sentence upon him because of concerns over public safety upon release. In addition to the 14 year prison term, he ordered the rapist to be supervised for four years upon release.
The judge said: "Your own senior counsel in the course of the trial accurately described these offences as crimes of great enormity. Your offending in this case has included grave sexual offending against vulnerable women.
"It is plain from the gravity of the offending before the court that only a very substantial custodial sentence is appropriate. On the basis of that offending and the available risk assessment material, I have concluded that the normal period of licence would not be adequate to protect the public from serious harm from you when you are in due course released."
Ingleson will also be made to sign the sex offenders register for life. His sentence was backdated to March 17, the date of his conviction. Detectives tasked with bringing Ingleson to justice have praised the sentence handed down today.
Detective Inspector George Calder said: "Barry Ingleson is now facing the consequences of his actions and I welcome the significant custodial sentence he has been handed today. His behaviour towards women has been disgraceful and I would like to pay tribute to those affected by his horrific actions and commend the strength they have shown to report the abuse they suffered.
"I hope today’s outcome will give them some form of comfort and closure to put their ordeals behind them. This conviction and sentence sends a clear message to all perpetrators that all reports of sexual abuse will be thoroughly investigated by Police Scotland irrespective of the passage in time, and victims will be supported throughout."
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