Man found guilty of raping teenager and abducting two other girls

A man has been convicted of abducting three teenage girls and raping one of his victims.

Stephen Dickson, who had been on trial at Aberdeen High Court, was also found guilty of robbing two of his victims and attempting to abduct a fourth.

On the fifth day of the trial in front of Lord Doherty the jury returned four guilty verdicts against Dickson.

The 50-year-old’s victims were aged between 14 and 17, while the woman he attempted to abduct was 18.

Dickson targeted his first victim, a 17-year-old, in October 2007 and targeted another two women before abducting a 15-year-old girl in January this year and raping and robbing her in the Torry area of Aberdeen.

Detective chief inspector Martin Dunn of Grampian Police said: "We welcome this conviction as this was an intensive and complex investigation which involved a dedicated team of officers piecing together some of Dickson's actions going back over a number of years.

"Their commitment and professionalism over an extended period has helped ensure that justice has been done and that Dickson will now have to face the consequences of his reprehensible behaviour.

"He is an extremely calculating individual, who carried out theses attacks with a degree of ruthlessness rarely encountered in Grampian or indeed anywhere else in Scotland.

"He has shown a complete disregard for the emotional and psychological impact these attacks have had upon the lives of his victims, who despite this conviction, will take some time to come to terms with what has happened to them.

"These young women deserve a great deal of credit for their bravery in coming forward and I would like to pay particular tribute to the courage they have shown in giving evidence this week. That was an enormously difficult experience - however it played a crucial role in helping to secure the conviction."

"I would also like to thank the Torry community and our partner agencies for their support during the investigation. Without their valuable help and assistance, our task would have been made much more difficult and today's outcome really shows the importance of working together."

Dickson will be sentenced in November at the High Court in Edinburgh and has been remanded in custody. No application for bail was made.

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