Rapist taunted 80-year-old woman as she cried for help

John Laming, 32, struck last Christmas Eve - just 12 days after he had been freed from jail.

Rapist taunted 80-year-old woman as she cried for help Police Scotland

A sex attacker who raped an 80-year-old woman in her own home has been jailed for eight years.

John Laming, 32, struck last Christmas Eve – just 12 days after he had been freed from jail.

The terrified victim yelled for help during the attack in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire, but when no one heard, Laming taunted her, saying: “Some neighbours you have got.”

Laming fled following the incident but was soon arrested in a garden near his home.

He was sentenced on Friday having earlier pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and rape.

Lady Stacey said she had decided against imposing an Order for Lifelong Restriction.

But, she told Laming: “What you did was a terrible crime. You should be completely ashamed.

“It must have been extremely frightening for the woman involved. She was in her own home minding her own business.”

The former heating engineer will also be supervised for a further four years on his release.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how Laming already had a criminal past including a four-year prison term for robbery in 2015.

Prosecutor Kath Harper said he was released from jail last December 12.

The victim was in bed when she was awoken by smashing glass around midnight on Christmas Eve.

She got up and was confronted by Laming. She ordered him out before bravely tackling him.

Miss Harper: “She reached for a metal pole used to open her window. She tried to hit him with it.”

The woman also pressed her panic alarm, but it failed to work.

The prosecutor: “She was also screaming. Laming said ‘some neighbours you have got’ when no one heard.”

The victim ended up on her bed with Laming leaning over her before he went on to rape her in the dining room.

After the attack, Laming helped the terrified woman onto a chair and told her to make a cup of tea.

Laming then left after clearing up broken glass – but returned to ask for his vape e-cigarette which he had dropped.

The victim called her daughter to say a man had “kicked her door in”.

Police also arrived before the distressed pensioner was taken to hospital.

As she was being examined, she burst into tears and told a medic: “I fought back.”

Her injuries included “multiple” bruises on her neck and body.

Laming was caught near the house he shared with his mum later that night hiding in a garden.

Laming was also placed on the Sex Offenders list.

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