TEEN RAPIST SENTENCED TO SIX AND A HALF YEARS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE ATTACK NEAR AIRDRIE

A teenage man who ambushed a girl on a pathway, causing her to fall before subjecting her to a sexual assault, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison.

Thomas Stewart was 16 years old at the time of the attack in 2014, which took place on Christmas Eve near a village close to Airdrie in North Lanarkshire. The victim was pushed to the ground before being raped.

Now 25, Stewart continued to commit sexual offences against the same girl during a period of abuse that started when she was 15. He later targeted a second victim, whom he raped at a different nearby village in 2018.

During a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh, the judge, Lord Clark, noted Stewart's ongoing denial of the charges. The judge observed that Stewart showed no remorse or understanding of the severe impact his actions could have, describing the consequences as potentially heartbreaking.

Lord Clark remarked that Stewart displayed some immaturity at the time of the offenses, particularly during the initial attack. The judge also pointed out that Stewart has no criminal record and was diagnosed with autism as a child.

He explained that if an adult had committed these crimes, the sentence would likely have been harsher. Stewart, formerly residing at The Furlongs in Hamilton, had contested several charges during a trial at Kilmarnock’s High Court.

Stewart was convicted of four counts of raping his first victim during 2014 and 2015, and an additional charge of sexual assault with intent to rape in May 2015, when he pushed her onto a bed and attempted to remove her clothing.

He was also found guilty of raping the second woman in May 2018 at a property near Airdrie, where he also engaged in sexual acts. The prosecution’s counsel, Paul Nelson KC, described Stewart as a juvenile immature for his age at the time.

Following sentencing, Stewart, who watched the proceedings via a video link from prison, was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely. The court also imposed non-harassment orders preventing him from contacting the complainants for an unlimited period.