Sex act man fails to have conviction overturned

A MA N jailed for seven years for forcing a wouldbe nanny to commit a sex act has failed to overturn his conviction.

A trial heard how Indulis Lukstins’ 21-year-old victim came to Scotland believing she was going to look after the children of a Russian family in Glasgow.

But after meeting her at Prestwick A irport, Lukstins, then 49, told the woman they were heading for Inverness instead.

On the A 9 between Perth and the Highland city he pulled into a lay-by, produced a knife and attacked her.

Lukstins, a Latvian who had been living in Nairn, claimed that the woman had willingly performed a sex act on him in the lay-by on January 15 last year. But a jury found him guilty.

Their verdict made him the first to be convicted of rape since a change in the law widened the definition to include sex acts other than intercourse.

Lukstins went to the Court of CriminalA ppeal in Edinburgh claiming his trial was unfair because police had unlawfully obtained a sample from him to compare with DNA found on his victim.

He said the mouth swab should not have been taken after his arrest without a court order.

Five judges discussed the legal powers of police to question and obtain evidence from suspects before coming to their decision yesterday.