THE PREDATOR
A rapist with 110 convictions strikes again twice only days after being freed, while under ‘supervision’. But, incredibly, officials now claim that there are ‘no lessons to be learned’
A RAPIST with one of the worst criminal records in Scotland carried out brutal sex attacks on two women just days after being freed from prison.
But, in a case that shames the justice system, the authorities responsible for monitoring dangerous offenders have concluded there are no lessons to be learned.
Raymond Dempster, 38, who has 110 convictions, will be sentenced next month for the attacks, carried out while under the supervision of authorities.
In June last year, the serial offender raped and violently assaulted a 42-year-old woman in her flat. He also assaulted a teenage student and tried to rape her as she was walking home. Both attacks happened days after he was released from a sentence for robbery and assault.
But a preliminary investigation into how his case was handled concluded that no one was to blame.
A close source said: ‘It was found there was no additional individual or collective learning to be gained for the organisations involved.’
The woman raped by Dempster died of a medical condition three months after the attack.
But last night one of her close relatives said they were horrified at the attitude of the authorities.
They said: ‘He’s an animal. I’m astounded they think there are no lessons to be learned.
‘He had committed these sorts of offences before. Perhaps if they had done their job then she wouldn’t even have been attacked.’
Justice campaigner MargaretAnn Cummings – whose eight-yearold son Mark was murdered by a convicted paedophile in Glasgow in 2004 – demanded an overhaul of the system. She said: ‘This terrible story screams out for action. If this is an example of a system working perfectly, we need a new system.
‘Our politicians owe it to Dempster’s victims to make sure things change for the better.’
Dempster, described as a drug addicted drifter, from the Govan area of Glasgow, was sentenced to five years in 2003 for the rape of a 19-year-old female soldier. Whilst still in jail, he carried out a brutal assault on a fellow inmate. On his release he continued to offend and was jailed again for robbery and assault.
On June 17 last year, Dempster was released – but within days he attacked a further two women.
One turned to him for help after being locked out of her Glasgow flat at night. Having helped her get back in, he shoved her into a bedroom, raped and assaulted her. On June 23, Dempster struck again, attacking a 19-year-old student in Glasgow as she walked home in the early hours of the morning. The teenager fought him off by kicking him in the face.
Before the trial started, Dempster’s first victim unexpectedly died. However, her statement to police, along with evidence including DNA, helped seal a conviction. He was found guilty of rape and assault with intent to rape at the High Court in Glasgow in March.
The court heard Dempster had already breached the sex offenders’ register five times.
He is likely to receive an Order of Lifelong Restriction, which means he will remain under continual assessment for life and could theoretically be kept in jail for life, until deemed safe to return to the community.
But trial judge Norman Ritchie QC, was bemused at how easy it had been for Dempster to reoffend, saying: ‘A man with his record is simply shown the door and then within a handful of days has attacked two women.’
There are 5,246 registered sex offenders in Scotland with around 4,000 living in the community under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA).
If one commits a serious crime, the local council, NHS, Scottish Prison Service and police hold an Initial Case Review (ICR).
If there are failings, it will escalate to a Significant Case Review (SCR), meant to pinpoint lessons to be learned.
The ICR into Dempster’s case cleared all officials involved of blame, according to a source.
A spokesman for the Glasgow MAPPA group said: ‘It would be inappropriate to comment on an individual case. MAPPA remains the best possible system for managing the risk associated with supervising offenders.’
‘This terrible story screams out for action’ ‘A man with his record is simply shown the door’