TEEN SEX ATTACKER POUNCED ON CANAL TOWPATH JOGGERS
Man struck three times in one day
A SEX attacker who lay in wait for joggers on a city canal path targeted three in one day.
Calvin Higgins, who threatened one woman with a knife, told a court that he had intended to rob his victims to fund a birthday gift for his girlfriend.
He was found guilty of attacking two women with intent to rape and assaulting a third
One young woman was “hyperventilating” with fear.
A SEX attacker pounced on female joggers during a string of terrifying crimes.
Calvin Higgins struck in March last year after lying in wait near a canal path in Glasgow’s Maryhill.
Higgins targeted three women in one day – including threatening one with a knife.
The 19-year-old from Thornliebank denied the incidents were sexually motivated.
He instead insisted he wanted to rob the victims to help fund a birthday present for his girlfriend. But Higgins now faces a lengthy spell behind bars after being convicted following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
He was found guilty of attacking two of the women with intent to rape.
Higgins faced a similar allegation against the third victim – but the jury deleted that accusation, instead convicting of assault.
The teenager was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month.
A woman who accompanied Higgins during the trial left the courtroom in tears following the verdict.
The attacks happened at a quiet path near student halls in Maryhill on March 10 last year.
Higgins confronted the first victim and brandished a blade at her. He ordered her to “get f****** down” with him to an even more secluded embankment area nearby.
The court heard the young woman was “hyperventilating” with fear.
She managed to escape, but Higgins went on to carry out a further sex attack on another runner.
Higgins punched this petrified woman and tried to push her into bushes. The victim’s blood ended up on his sleeve.
He struggled with her, but she also luckily escaped. The third attack involved Higgins approaching a woman from behind and trying to grab her.
Higgins claimed in court he only wanted to rob the victims – despite not stealing anything.