A man who abducted and raped a student in a terrifying attack in Dundee is to be examined by a top doctor to assess the extent of his learning difficulties.
Mohammed Chugtai was convicted of pulling his victim towards a wooded area in Caird Park with the intent of committing a sexual offence against her around 14 years ago.
A jury heard evidence he detained the teenager against her will, brandished a stone towards her and pinned her against a tree before touching her breasts, putting his hands down her lower clothing and groping her private parts.
After committing a sex act in her presence, Chugtai asked the young woman for sex and pinned her on the ground, before pulling down her lower clothing and raping her.
Chugtai, 31, of William Street, Dundee, pled not guilty to a series of offences but was convicted by the jury of carrying out the rape between November 2005 and May 2008, when his victim was aged between 16 and 18.
He was told his name would be added to the Sex Offenders Register with immediate effect and his conviction would be notified to Scottish Ministers in line with protection of vulnerable groups legislation.
Disputed text messages
During the trial the jury was shown screenshots of text messages exchanged between the complainer and the accused 10 years after the alleged incident.
In one, the complainer told the accused she believed she had been raped during the attack.
He replied saying “sorry”, but his defence case was based on the premise he was sorry she had been raped – not that he was apologising for raping her.
When Chugtai appeared for sentence at the High Court in Livingston, his defence counsel Mark Stewart said the criminal justice social work report into his client’s background had raised issues about the extent and nature of the accused’s learning disability.
He said it would be appropriate for the court to have those difficulties assessed by a psychologist and the findings to be included in a supplementary social work report.
He also advocated seeking the advice of the Tay Project – which provides services in relation to convicted sex offenders – to ensure all available sentencing options could be considered.
Medical report ordered
Judge Lord Harrower a forensic psychologist with NHS Tayside, named in the social work report, should carry out the assessment.
He also agreed with a suggestion from Mr Stewart that screenshots of the text messages which had featured in the evidence should be passed to the psychologist and to social workers compiling the supplementary report.
He said: “In the context of the trial we were able to explore the texts with witnesses. I was imagining that the social worker might make similar caveats.
“Surely a professional social worker would be able to make allowance for that.
“The social work report is quite a superficial document.”
He added he fully accepted what Mr Stewart was saying about putting the text messages into context.
He told Chugtai to return for sentencing at Edinburgh High Court on February 10.
He continued the accused’s bail in the meantime.
