Man who raped girl jailed for nine years

A man who forced a 14-year-old girl into bushes and raped her was yesterday sentenced to nine years’ detention.

Romanian Samuel Ciornei, 20, had only been in the UK for three weeks when he pounced on his terrified victim.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that Ciornei watched his schoolgirl victim as she cycled to Asda Barrhead, Renfrewshire, to buy sweets. While she was inside he deflated her tyre. He followed her as she pushed her bike and appeared to offer to help with the flat tyre. In less than a minute he had put a piece of broken glass to her throat and dragged her into bushes. Ciornei then subjected her to a sexual attack which lasted seven minutes.

After trial, Ciornei was unanimously found guilty of the rape on 7 August, 2016, but he continues to protest his innocence.