Rapist, 73, goes back to stay at scene of attack
A RAPIST has been allowed to return to the sheltered housing complex where he committed the crime while he appeals his conviction.
Stewart Winton, 73, was jailed for four-and-a-half years for his attack on a vulnerable woman – but is now at home on bail.
Criminals normally pursue appeals from their jail cells but in this case the former soldier was bailed despite carrying out a sexual attack.
Residents at the complex in Oban, Argyll – most of them elderly women – say they feel threatened and have alerted the local MSP, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Government.
Winton was jailed in June after a jury at the High Court in Glasgow found him guilty of raping a woman with learning difficulties in his home. Winton’s wife of 43 years, who uses a wheelchair, was out when the offence took place in 2013.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
Jailing him, judge Lady Scott told Winton: ‘You have been found guilty of the rape of your victim, who was incapable of consenting.
‘She was obviously vulnerable and you exploited that vulnerability for your own sexual gratification.’
Winton was granted bail at the High Court in Edinburgh on November 6, pending an appeal.
A special bail condition means he cannot enter any other flat within the complex but worried residents have approached Nationalist MSP Mike Russell, who has been in touch with the Justice Secretary and the Crown Office on their behalf.
Resident Margaret Stronach, 69, said: ‘It’s disgraceful. This housing is for people who are vulnerable, elderly and have health problems.’ She said she had health problems and preferred to leave her door open in case she needed help, but added: ‘I am annoyed because I have to keep my door locked all day now.’
Margaret Smith, 64, a former warden at the complex who now lives there, said: ‘There are 30 flats and it’s mainly single women. We are not happy about him being back here.’
Oban councillor Roddy McCuish said: ‘Far be it for me to question a judicial decision, but this is one of the most insensitive decisions I have ever heard, releasing this man to the alleged scene of the crime.’
Alastair MacGregor, chief executive of the Argyll Community Housing Association (ACHA) which runs the complex, said: ‘We are concerned by the release of Mr Winton. Our priority is to support our tenants. We do not believe Mr Winton should be there.’
He added that, following Winton’s conviction, ACHA had raised a civil action for recovery of possession of his tenancy, saying: ‘We believe his actions have breached his tenancy conditions.’
The action was put on hold at Oban Sheriff Court on Thursday pending the High Court appeal.
Winton’s solicitor Donna Sagewood said her client did not want to comment.
The trial heard Winton was arrested after the woman, who is in her forties but cannot be named for legal reasons, reported the incident to her support worker.
A spokesman for the Judicial Office for Scotland said: ‘The decision to grant an application for bail pending an appeal, and any related conditions, are a matter for the court, taking into account all the facts and circumstances in a case.’