Convicted rapist's appeal

Published 4 Aug 2010 09:30

By Ewan McInnes

A MAN convicted of raping a Barrhead teenager has been slammed for 'dragging out his victim's ordeal'.

When facing sentencing for the attack, John Munro, 37, notoriously sacked his legal time on 13 occasions over a 14 month period.

And now Munro, who was due to contest his conviction for the sex attack which a court heard almost killed a policemen's daughter, has parted company with his latest legal team, appeal judges heard last week.

Munro claims there was not enough evidence for a jury to find him guilty of rape and claims his sentence was too severe.

In January 2008, Lord Kinclaven caged him for a minimum of eight years and imposed an order keeping the danger-man under supervision for the rest of his life.

Defence advocate Chris Shead was expected to argue Munro's case at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

Instead he told Lord Gill, sitting with Lady Paton and Lady Cosgrove that as a result of 'developments' Munro's solicitor was no longer in a position to act for him, and his own position was 'untenable'.

Lord Gill said he would allow Munro, of Glenburn, Paisley, time to find new lawyers and another hearing is expected next month.

He added: "I should mention to you, Mr Munro, it will definitely go ahead on the next date, with or without legal help."

At his trial the court heard how he dragged the teenage girl off the street as she made her way to work and warned her to keep quiet because he had a gun.

Munro then strangled his 18-year-old victim, the daughter of a police officer, until she passed out.

When she came round she found him having sex with her.

A doctor told how her injuries could easily have been fatal and said they were the worst signs of strangulation he had seen during an 18-year career.

One witness said Munro seemed to be grinning as he pulled the terrified girl towards an alley in the centre of Barrhead, on April 1 2007.

Eventually judge Lord Kinclaven imposed an order keeping Munro under supervision for the rest of his life and jailed him for a minimum of eight years.

The sentence in March last year came only after more than a dozen court appearances over 14 months because Munro kept sacking his lawyers.

Victim Support East Renfrewshire in Bank Street Barrhead hit out at Munro.

A spokesman said: "There should never be any extra suffering for the victims of heinous crimes such as rape.

"There are laws which allow courts to hand out justice and the court really at the end of the day be it a sheriff, judge or jury has to decide what is reasonable by law.

"Obviously sacking a legal team would drag out the ordeal of the victim and their family."

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