A “dangerous” sex predator who dragged two schoolgirls off the street in a bid to rape them has been jailed for more than six years.
Regan McClinton, 21, preyed on the youngsters within less than 30 minutes of each other in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, on 22 April 2023.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the then 18-year-old was captured on CCTV following a 15-year-old girl as she walked along Broompark Road in broad daylight.
McClinton grabbed her by the hair and body before dragging her into an alleyway, where he snatched her mobile phone and subjected her to a physical and sexual assault.
McClinton fled when members of the public intervened, but just minutes later he set his sights on an 11-year-old girl who had been walking with a friend along nearby Burnbrae Road.
COPFS said he pulled the child into an alleyway, where he physically assaulted and attempted to rape her, causing severe injury.
In his sentencing statement, judge Lord Andrew Cubie said McClinton was “literally kicked off” the girl by a neighbour who had heard her screams as she fought back.
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The youngster’s friend had also realised the danger he posed and had run for help.
The judge told McClinton: “You again fled and when confronted brazenly denied any involvement.”
Lord Cubie said the attacks “must have been disorientating and then terrifying for the victims”.
He added: “The realisation of what happened was hugely upsetting for the families of these children.
“And these events were very concerning for the wider community, consisting as they did of two attacks in broad daylight in a populated residential area where only the intervention of people who heard the incidents prevented the escalation of what were already serious matters into something worse.
“These were shocking offences.”
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McClinton, of Blantyre, denied any wrongdoing but was on 10 September found guilty of assault with intent to rape as well as attempted rape following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
The prosecution presented a variety of evidence during proceedings, including CCTV footage, DNA evidence and eyewitness accounts.
McClinton was handed an extended sentence of eight years and nine months at the High Court in Kilmarnock on Thursday, with six years and nine months in jail and two years on licence once released back into the community.
Lord Cubie said he took Scotland’s sentencing guidelines for under-25s into account.
Highlighting a victim impact statement prepared by the second girl’s mother, the judge stated: “You took her independence, her security, and to a real extent, her childhood.
“The first victim will have had similar consequences.”
McClinton was additionally placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and banned from contacting the youngsters.
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Fiona Kirkby, procurator fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: “Regan McClinton subjected both girls to horrific ordeals within minutes of each other and only a short distance apart.
“These children should have been safe going about their business, but were instead targeted by this dangerous and opportunistic offender.
“He has now been held accountable following this prosecution, which was made possible using evidence from both children and the members of the public who thankfully interrupted both attacks.”
