A Syrian man who fled Scotland after raping a 15-year-old girl has been jailed for eight years.
Marwan al Bakr, 32, subjected the vulnerable teenager to a 55-minute attack near the national football stadium Hampden Park in Glasgow on 14 February 2022.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said al Bakr approached the victim while she was sitting at a bus stop before leading her to a secluded grassy area, where he subjected her to the serious sexual assault.
The teenager raised the alarm a short time later and a police investigation was launched.
Al Bakr was found to have fled the UK in the days following the attack.
He was later traced in the Lathen area of Germany and extradited back to Scotland in October 2023.
Al Bakr was last month found guilty of rape following a trial at the High Court in Livingston.
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He was handed a 13-year extended sentence at the High Court in Stirling on Monday, with eight years in jail and five years on licence once released back into the community.
Judge Jane Farquharson said the victim was a “complete stranger” to al Bakr as she described the accused’s behaviour as “opportunistic and predatory”.
Citing CCTV footage, the judge said it was clear that al Bakr “clocked” the girl and took steps to follow her before approaching the teenager at the empty bus stop on the deserted street.
Judge Farquharson said al Bakr “removed” the victim to a “dark and quiet” area of parkland, where he subjected her to a sex attack lasting almost an hour.
The girl’s shouts of “stop” and “don’t” were said to have been heard within a nearby property.
The judge stated: “You have your own narrative about what happened that night which is completely at odds with the evidence led in court, and so I disregard the same.”
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‘Troubling reading’
Judge Farquharson said two background reports prepared made for “troubling reading”.
She added: “It is not just your pervasive self-interest. You have shown no insight whatsoever into your serious sexual offending.”
The judge highlighted the victim impact statement, noting: “At just 18 years of age now, she has outlined the significant, ongoing and lasting effects of this offence on the day as she described it, that ‘her body was taken away from her’.”
Judge Farquharson further criticised al Bakr’s attitude to women, citing his conduct towards his female interpreter during the trial and his behaviour towards the female social workers tasked with preparing reports for the sentencing.
‘Grave concern’
The judge said: “Your attitudes towards females cause me grave concern.”
However, Judge Farquharson did say al Bakr was a “man of previous good character” as she noted his “difficult personal history” given the war in his birth country of Syria.
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As well as the jail sentence, al Bakr was additionally placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and banned from contacting his victim.
Katrina Parkes, procurator fiscal for high court sexual offences, said: “Marwan al Bakr poses a significant danger through his predatory behaviour.
“I am grateful to the victim for coming forward. It is because of her that al Bakr will now face the consequences of his actions.”
