Man who raped vulnerable woman 'drifting in and out of sleep' and jailed for seven years

A man who raped a vulnerable woman while she was drifting in and out of sleep has been jailed for seven years.

Jonathan Spink targeted the victim at a flat in Edinburgh when she was intoxicated through alcohol and prescription medication and incapable of consenting to sex.

Judge Lord Summers told Spink at the High Court in Edinburgh that he read a victim impact statement and said: “It is plain this has had a very serious impact on the victim.”

The 37-year-old had carried out an earlier sexual assault on another woman at an address in Aberdeen when he pulled down her trousers.

Spink had denied the offences at an earlier trial but was convicted of both the sexual assault and rape.

The sex attack occurred at a property in Aberdeen on an occasion between December 1, 2017, and January 31, 2019.

Spink raped the woman at the flat in Edinburgh on October 31, 2021, after she was drifting in and out of sleep.

Defence counsel Victoria Dow told the court: “There is clearly no alternative to a custodial sentence. Mr Spink is aware of that.”

She said Spink has no previous convictions and came from a supportive background.

Spink, who followed the sentencing proceedings via a TV link to prison, was placed on the sex offenders’ register.