Girl, 12, gave birth after she was raped
Sex predator, 54, who fled country is finally jailed
A PAEDOPHILE who fled the country after getting a 12-year-old pregnant was jailed yesterday.
Balwinder Singh raped the schoolgirl at a house in Edinburgh in the summer of 2016 and the child later complained of having stomach pains.
Her mother took her to see a doctor in December 2016 and it was confirmed that she was pregnant. Her conception date was around mid-June.
Because of the advanced stage of pregnancy, a termination could not be carried out and the child went on to give birth, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.
Singh, 54, who had fled to Canada, was brought back to Scotland to face prosecution.
Jailing him for five years and four months yesterday, Lady Scott told Singh: ‘You have pled guilty to the rape of a 12-year-old child. The victim became pregnant and gave birth, which caused her very considerable distress.’
She said the rape of a child was always very serious and it appeared from a background report prepared on Singh that he had previously blamed the girl for his conduct.
But the judge added: ‘There is no suggestion of grooming and, in addition, I take into account that you have pled guilty at an early stage and that you have no prior sexual offending and no relevant record.’
Lady Scott said he would have faced an eight-year sentence of imprisonment if he had been convicted after a drawn-out trial. Advocate depute Isla Davie, QC, told the court that the baby was born ‘under sheets’ at the girl’s request and immediately removed from the room.
She said the girl never saw the baby but became highly distressed when she heard its cries. The infant was fostered and then adopted.
The prosecutor said the rape victim presented as ‘a very young, naive, shy, little girl’.
It was found that she had little or no sexual knowledge and her mother had removed her from sex education at school.
DNA evidence pointed to Singh, who was found to have left for Hong Kong before going on to Canada.
In January this year, Canadian authorities told the Crown that Singh was in custody over an alleged shoplifting offence. He was deported and arrested on arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Defence counsel Kenneth Cloggie said there was no violence or use of alcohol or drugs in the crime. Singh was put on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
An NSPCC Scotland spokesman said: ‘It’s crucial that the victim receives ongoing support to recover.’