Pregnant woman was among the victims of 'despicable' Edinburgh serial rapist

Daryl Gowers' victims included a pregnant woman and another he met on a dating site.

The crimes occurred between August 2013 and February 2018 at a number of addresses in Edinburgh and Hawick in the Borders. They included attacks in Lochend Park and Balfour Street in Edinburgh between 2014 and 2016

Gowers, 30, from Leith, appeared at the High Court in Glasgow after he was previously convicted of raping three of the women and sexually assaulting the fourth.

He will be supervised for a further four years on his release by a team of criminal justice social work experts under a Multi-agency Public Protection Plan to monitor his behaviour and deter him from reoffending.

Jurors previously heard how Gowers also attacked one of the women while she was initially asleep.

Despite his conviction, Gower’s defence lawyer David Nicolson told the court "He continues to deny these offences."

Lord Fairley also put Gowers on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

The judge said: "One of the charges involved multiple rapes over a period of two years.

"Another involved a woman with significant learning difficulties and (the victim in final charge) was vulnerable, who you had met through an online dating service."

The court also heard that experts who had dealt with Gowers deemed him to be at "high risk" of further offending.

Following the sentencing hearing, Detective Constable Rachel Robertson from Edinburgh’s Public Protection Unit said: “Daryl Gowers preyed on vulnerable women and his victims showed tremendous bravery by helping the police investigation and ensuring that he has now been held accountable for his actions.

“Gowers clearly thought he could get away with this despicable behaviour, however he was wrong. I hope that this sentencing sends a clear message that nobody is above the law and will encourage anyone who finds themselves subjected to this kind of crime to come forward.

“Police Scotland takes any reports of rape or sexual assault extremely seriously and will rigorously investigate all complaints. Anyone who believes they have been the victim of a sexual crime should report it by calling Police Scotland on 101.”

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