A dietician raped two women he met on dating apps before staging his own death and fleeing Scotland to escape justice.
James Clacher carried out the sex attacks in 2019 and 2020 after meeting his victims on Tinder and Bumble.
Jurors heard the 57-year-old later staged his own death – prompting a major police search – before being traced “hanging upside down” on exercise equipment on a beach in Spain in May 2024.
Clacher denied the charges but was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Guardia CivilClacher disappeared from Bellshill on May 30, 2022.
The gym boss was last seen in Airdrie with his car found at the Loch Long car park in Arrochar, Argyll, the following day.
Two years later, the 55-year-old was captured by the Spanish Civil Guard after an international warrant was issued for his arrest.
Police ScotlandOfficers posing as tourists apprehended Clacher in the region of Nerja while he was exercising on a public beach on May 21, 2024.
It followed an investigation between Britain’s National Crime Agency and the Civil Guard’s UCO unit, which established he was “well integrated” into the community.
He was extradited to Scotland and has been on trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
Guardia CivilRaped Tinder date ‘within minutes’ of arriving at her home
In August 2019, a dietician and fitness instructor calling himself James Clarke turned up at a woman’s home after they met on Tinder.
They had agreed to go for dinner near her home in South Ayrshire.
She recalled how the man – who had told her he was 41 – had turned up early at her house and she offered him a drink while she finished getting ready.
The woman went to pour herself a glass of prosecco, and he asked if he could use the toilet before returning downstairs.
The woman said she was standing in the kitchen when she could feel Clacher “right behind” her.
She claimed it was not long after that he grabbed her, pushed her against the wall and tried to kiss her. He also allegedly touched her inappropriately.
The woman said that Clacher went on to rape her.
Asked in court if he said anything, the woman told jurors: “He did not say a word. I said, ‘I do not like this. I do not want to do this’. I kept saying that.
“He was just ignoring me. My body started shaking and I started crying.”
The woman said this happened within “ten to 15 minutes max” of him turning up.
She further claimed the man then made her go upstairs and “raped me again”.
The woman had gone to the bathroom and, when she came back, the man claimed he had to leave as he had been told his brother had suffered a heart attack.
She did not immediately report what happened and instead told her doctor days later.
Police went to her home, but she was “not ready for that conversation” at that time.
The court heard there was then contact between the woman and the Tinder date. This included her calling him a “predatory rapist”.
There was also a phone call, which the woman recorded part of. This was played to the jurors.
She confronted him with her claims which included her stating she was “a vessel for what you wanted”.
Apologised to Bumble date victim for attack
A second victim said she had met Clacher on the Bumble dating app.
She believed the man to be in his late 30s or early 40s.
The pair agreed to go to a Nando’s restaurant in Glasgow’s Springfield Quay.
Clacher drove to her home and there was consensual kissing and hugging.
They went for dinner, but ended up taking their food away before going to a beach in Ayrshire.
On the journey back to Glasgow, the woman said Clacher suggested they go back to his home so he “could make cocktails” to drink.
She said no and instead offered for Clacher to go back to her flat.
The woman said: “The plan was to watch a movie then he would go home.”
The jury heard they sat on a couch in the living room while the film was on before they began kissing.
She ended up taking her dress off and Clacher also removed some of his clothes.
Clacher then attempted to have sex with her.
The woman said: “I was trying to stop him and direct him back to the movie.”
The woman recalled she was not facing him as she continued to attempt to “deter” him.
She became emotional in her evidence as the witness described trying to cover herself up “because he was not listening”.
She said Clacher grabbed one arm with the other against the couch.
The woman recalled feeling “a sharp pain” and also being “scared”. Clacher did not say anything.
The court heard she got “angry” and asked him to leave.
But, she claimed he instead sat down and remained there for another 20 minutes. When he eventually left, the woman stated the man said he was “sorry” and that he wanted to see her again.
Lord Cubie remanded Clacher in custody pending sentencing on October 1 in Edinburgh.
The judge stated that Clacher had acted in a “warped and self-centred manner,” warning him to expect a lengthy jail term.
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