Fife Jammer LocationsA convicted sex offender who tried to rape a schoolgirl in the woods as she walked to get her lunch could be facing a life sentence.
John Millar carried out the attack in broad daylight in a crime described by a judge as “the stuff of nightmares” for the 16-year-old victim.
The traumatised youngster bravely fought off the 35-year-old, but he was caught following a large-scale police probe and media appeal last September.
Millar later claimed he thought the girl would have been “easy” and admitted his plan had been to rape the teenage stranger.
He was due to be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow, having previously admitted to an attempted rape charge.
But, Judge John McCormick instead adjourned the case again as he decided to call for a full risk assessment order to be carried out on Millar.
He had previously been convicted in 2016 of sending a young girl explicit texts over a two-year period.
This could eventually result in an Order for Lifelong Restriction being imposed, which may mean the attacker is never released.
Millar will next appear in court in September.
The victim in the latest case had left school on the afternoon of September 11 last year to walk to a shop in Kirkcaldy, Fife, for a late lunch.
The route involved going through woods near the town’s Dunnikier Way, known locally as “The Den”.
The girl was clutching her phone at the time and had one AirPod in.
Prosecutor Margaret Barron then explained: “As she made her way through the wooded path, she became aware of Millar cycling behind her.
“The girl moved over to let the cyclist past.
“He then got off his bicycle, grabbed her by the waist from behind and threw her towards the ground, causing her to land on her back, either in or beside a bush with thorns.”
The court heard Millar began groping the child – he was silent during the attack.
Ms Barron said: “The girl felt scared and thought Millar was going to rape her.”
The young victim kicked out at Millar and yelled at him to get off.
The advocate depute said: “Millar appeared to be startled by her actions – he got up, went on his bicycle and left.”
The distressed and sobbing girl called her father. She eventually calmed down enough to state “a man had assaulted her”.
The youngster made her way back to school. A teacher spotted that she was chalk-white, dishevelled and had leaves on her uniform.
The victim told her what had happened. She also showed how she had multiple scratches, and her tights were torn.
An investigation was soon launched to catch the attacker.
CCTV captured a man running from the direction of the crime while pushing his bike.
He was also wearing a distinctive two-tone jacket.
Police eventually traced Millar to a block of flats in Kirkcaldy on September 13.
Officers went on to discover the same bike and jacket at his mother’s home.
Millar initially claimed he had been trying to “rob” the girl and lied that it was not sexually motivated.
He said: “It is not in my nature to do stuff like that.”
But, Millar, of Dysart, admitted he had pounced after seeing what the girl was wearing.
He stated: “I thought, right, she would be easy. I pulled her into the bushes, we did have a struggle, but, like I say, I did not sit on top of her.
“I just grabbed her. She told me to get off. She started screaming.
“I did not do anything after that – I have not tried to rip her clothes off her. It was also my intention to rob her as well.
“Just thinking, if I was going to get anything off her – or whatever was going to happen – I should have gone about it in a different way.”
It was put to Millar what he meant by the last comment.
He replied: “Basically, sex off her. It obviously would not have been consented.”
Asked had it been his intention to “rape” the youngster and that he had then “thought better of it”, Millar admitted: “Yes”.
At the previous hearing, Judge McCormick told Millar: “This is the stuff of every 16-year-old schoolgirl’s nightmares.”
Millar remains on the sex offenders list.
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