GIVE US JUSTICE FOR REBECCA EXCLUSIVE
Mum’s fury as prosecutors drop charges against beast accused of sex attack on daughter after torment drives her to suicide
THE mum of a young woman who took her own life after accusing a sex offender of attacking her has slammed prosecutors for dropping charges against him.
Karen Youdale says Rebecca, 24, has had “no justice” over Douglas Livingstone’s alleged assault.
A MUM has hit out after a sex offender accused of a vile attack on her daughter had the charges against him dropped – after the alleged victim killed herself.
Rebecca MacGilvray, 24, reported to police that she had been sexually assaulted by her neighbour Douglas Livingstone.
Livingstone, 63, from Cumbernauld, was on bail and subject to a sex offences protection order at the time of the alleged attack in November 2015.
Three months after the incident, Rebecca was found dead by her boyfriend in her home after taking a concoction of anti-depressants.
Livingstone was later charged with attacking Rebecca and appeared in court.
But in September last year, the Crown dismissed the sexual assault charge against Livingstone, citing “insufficient evidence”, and the case was dropped.
Now, more than three years after the alleged attack, Rebecca’s devastated mum Karen Youdale has hit out at the system that has left her with “no answers, no justice and no closure”.
The 54-year-old said: “After all this time, we have nothing. No answers. No justice.
“I feel totally betrayed and let down by the whole system. There is no closure.
“I’ve never been told why the case was dropped. All I knew was from local rumours.
“I’ve never had a letter or a phone call. Any call I’ve ever made to the procurator fiscal’s office or the court has resulted in being told they can’t tell me anything.
“We were never told but gathered that he was on the sex offenders’ register at the time he attacked Rebecca. He
wasn’t adhering to his bail conditions and was on bail for that at the time he attacked her.
“I don’t understand how he was free to then attack her.
“On many occasions throughout the case, he failed to attend court.
“On several occasions, the hearing had been cancelled the day before but we were not informed until we arrived at the court.
“While he was in the dock, he laughed and no one said anything. We just felt totally ridiculed.
“The entire case was a farce. He had no respect whatsoever for the law and my poor daughter received no justice.”
Livingstone had been released on bail eight days before the alleged assault on Rebecca, after facing charges of failing to comply with the restrictions of a sex offenders order handed to him in July 2015.
Rebecca took her own life in February 2016. Livingstone appeared at Airdrie Sheriff Court in November 2016 in connection with the alleged sexual assault on her.
But the charges were dropped in September – and Livingstone walked free from court.
Karen, a former nurse, says that after the alleged attack, her daughter’s mental health deteriorated and, after two suicides attempts, she was admitted to hospital by her own volition.
She believes the alleged attack on Rebecca caused her to take her own life.
Karen said: “After the attack, Rebecca was in pieces. She wouldn’t leave the house. She shut herself off from everyone. She blamed herself for trying to help a man who asked for her help. She blamed herself for not being able to fight him off.
“Rebecca couldn’t deal with what had happened to her. The court case was hanging over her head. Rebecca didn’t know anything about courts.
“We only knew what we had seen on TV, so she was petrified of going to court and facing him again.
“No one could tell us what was happening with the case.
“It was so frightening and became too much for her. In the end, she just couldn’t cope. All I want is justice for my daughter.”
Livingstone had met Rebecca at Airdrie’s Monklands Hospital, where he was being treated for alcohol addiction.
Rebecca had been admitted for help to cope with emotional difficulties which stemmed from her lifelong struggle with epilepsy.
Karen says that Livingstone soon began pestering her daughter with text messages, claiming he needed her help to set up a new television.
Karen told how Rebecca, who lived near Livingstone, felt sorry for him and, after being hounded, finally agreed to help him out of pity.
But when Rebecca arrived at his home, she claimed he attacked her.
Karen said: “Rebecca called me crying hysterically saying, ‘Something terrible has happened mum’.
“She said, ‘Mum, I went to fix a man’s telly and he attacked me.’”
Livingstone was initially charged with forcibly kissing Rebecca, pulling down her top and then sexually assaulting her at his home in Abronhill, Cumbernauld. A Crown Office spokesman said: “This was a case with a long procedural history.
“This was contributed to by the non-attendance at court of the accused and a number of legal objections to the admissibility of evidence following the death of the complainer.
“The court subsequently ruled that a number of pieces of evidence which were essential to the proof of the prosecution case were inadmissible.
“That resulted in there being insufficient evidence to support the main charge against the accused.
“The accused pled guilty to three other charges for which he was admonished by the court.
“The complainer’s partner was regularly updated on the progress of the case.
“We would be happy to explain to the family the court’s reasons for not admitting the evidence on the main charge.”
He laughed in the dock.. he had no respect for the law KAREN’S CLAIM OVER LIVINGSTONE’S BEHAVIOUR IN COURT