Sex offender Daniel Welsh jailed for Aberdeen rape
A sex offender who repeatedly raped a woman after forcing her off the street has been jailed for life.
Daniel Welsh, 22, attacked a 25-year-old stranger as she walked to meet a friend for dinner in Aberdeen in February 2014.
Welsh pleaded guilty to abduction and rape charges at the High Court in Glasgow in June.
Sentencing him Judge Lady Rae described Welsh's attack as "prolonged, vile and depraved."
She handed him an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) which means he will only be released from custody once the parole board is satisfied that he no longer poses a threat to public safety.
At the time he committed the attack Welsh was on a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
The court heard how he was being monitored by an offender management unit in Aberdeen having been assessed as "very high risk" of committing another sex crime.
Lady Rae said: "You have been convicted of the most serious attack on a young woman. Despite her repeated pleas for you to release her from your control, you continued to rape her.
"One cannot even imagine the terror this young woman must have suffered. It is clear from the Victim Impact Statement that she has suffered greatly at your hands - the psychological impact on her is incalculable."
The court heard how Welsh had grabbed his victim from behind on the city's Urquhart Road before threatening to shoot her and forcing her to walk with him.
He then took her to an isolated area in a nearby cemetery before raping her.
Welsh then made her walk to a bird observatory about 30 minutes away where he forced her to have sex a further three times.
He eventually told his victim to get dressed and walked with her to Pittodrie Stadium before fleeing.
Once the victim returned home she immediately texted a friend to say she had been raped.
Welsh was eventually found by police at his sister's house, but he made no comment about the rape.
The court heard that Welsh told doctors he couldn't remember committing the attack.
Lady Rae said she was satisfied that the incident was serious enough for Welsh to be given an OLR.
She ordered him to serve at least four and half years in prison before the parole board can consider whether he should be released back into the community.
Det Insp Kevin Walker from Police Scotland said: "This was an extremely distressing incident for the victim and I want to pay tribute to her courage in coming forward and helping police with the inquiry, which resulted in Daniel Welsh being quickly apprehended.
"Welsh is a predatory offender who subjected his victim to a brutal and sustained attack, and has shown no remorse for his actions.
"I welcome the sentence handed to him today where he can no longer be a threat to the public."