Man raped woman and attacked two teenagers in park

A lorry driver who raped a woman after finding her passed out in a bus stop in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Park has been jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Joseph Hail, who also attacked two teenage girls in the same park just over a month later, was convicted at the city’s High Court on Tuesday.

The 67-year-old raped the 22-year-old in the back seat of his car after driving her to Cumbernauld on August 27, 2018.

She had earlier left a party at Sanctuary nightclub before passing out in the park.

In evidence the victim told the court that her next memory was lying in the back seat of a car with an “older” man raping her.

Her next recollection after that was sitting on grass crying and feeling scared with her shoes tied differently and underwear undone.

She eventually managed to get in touch with her mother and the police were phoned.

An intimate swab was taken and the DNA matched Hail, from Bonnyrbidge, whose claims that the woman had consensual sex with him were dismissed as “frankly ridicoulous” by Judge Lord Matthews.

Hail told the court: “It just happened, she came on to me.”

The two teenage girls, aged 16 and 19, were assaulted by Hail in the same Glasgow park on October 1 that year.

All three offences took place in the early hours of the morning and the jury rejected the rapist’s “bizarre” claim that he was only there to have a sleep before starting work.

Judge Matthews told Hail, who was on a video link from Barlinnie Prison: “On three occasions you were hanging around Kelvingrove Park. You said you were there to have a sleep before starting work. The jury rejected that frankly bizarre suggestion.

“The complainer you raped had had a considerable amount of alcohol. She was seen on CCTV at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Her next recollection is waking up in a car with you.

“You claimed she found you so attractive that she threw herself at you. Your story is frankly ridiculous.”

Defence counsel Louise Arrol said: “He maintains his position that he is innocent. That limits his ability to express remorse.”

The court heard that days after the rape Hail went to his victim’s home and posted her purse which was left in his car through her letterbox.

He got her address from her drivers license and told the court he “sat there all afternoon” before returning another twice in a bid to return the purse.

The 67-year-old then tried to contact his victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, via Facebook twice in September.

When asked about this he replied: “I was thinking to go on to see if she got her purse alright.”

Hail was placed on the sex offenders’ register.