Man messaged victim 'I feel bad' after subjecting her to 'cruel' rape

A man sent a message to a woman which read “I feel bad” after subjecting her to a “cruel” rape which affected her ability to function.

Alquimedes Gabriel Duran Geraldino, 35, sexually assaulted the woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, at a location in Edinburgh in Autumn 2023.

A jury sitting at the high court in the Scottish capital heard how the Venezuelan national also subjected his victim to physical and emotional abuse.

They heard how Geraldino had uttered offensive and threatening remarks towards her. The woman gave evidence about how he accused her of “sleeping with half of Edinburgh”.

He also subjected her to physical abuse by punching and and kicking her on her face and body.

The first offender also sent a text message to the woman saying that he felt ‘bad’.

Eventually, the woman contacted police and detectives launched an investigation Geraldino, of Edinburgh, was later charged.

On Thursday afternoon, Geraldino was found guilty on charges of rape and abusive behaviour.

He had spent the proceedings denying any wrongdoing. Following the conviction, defence advocate Victoria Dow asked Lord Cubie to grant bail to her client.

But Lord Cubie remanded him in custody and called for a report which would probe Geraldino’s attitude towards the offence.

Lord Cubie told Geraldino: “Your actions were cruel. You took advantage of her vulnerability.

“It is clear that there have been effects on her self-esteem and her day-to-day functioning.

“This is a very serious matter.”

‘He called me a streetwalker’

Geraldino spent his entire trial sitting alongside a Spanish translator who explained the evidence presented against him in his native language.

The jury was played a recording which was made earlier of the woman, who was aged 28, giving evidence.

She said that Geraldino had come to Edinburgh from Venezuela.

In the recording, she told them of how Geraldino treated her.

She added: “He called me a streetwalker. He said I had slept with half of Edinburgh.

“I felt bad. I felt humiliated. He was very, very aggressive.”

In her closing speech, prosecutor Kirsten Cockburn told jurors that there was enough evidence available to convict Geraldino of his crimes.

She spoke of his cruelty and how he raped her.

Ms Cockburn added: “He compelled her to have sex with him after he had told her she had spent the night with another man.”

Ms Cockburn said the Crown also had evidence of a text sent by Geraldino to the woman. The message read: “I feel bad.”

Ms Cockburn told the jurors they could be convinced of Geraldino’s guilt.

She added: “Taking all of the evidence together, it is clear that the right verdicts to return are guilty ones.

“I would invite you to do that.”

New father’s bail refused

Following conviction, Ms Dow asked Lord Cubie to continue her client’s bail.

She said: “I have a very unusual application and I make it entirely cognisant of the fact that the verdicts in the case mean a prison sentence is inevitable.

“I ask your lordship to continue his bail. He is a new father and he has instructed me to ask so he can help his partner over the next few weeks.”

However, Lord Cubie refused and continued the case so the court could obtain a background report.

Geraldino will learn his fate when the case next calls at the High Court in Edinburgh on October 29, 2026.