Gurnam Singh, 30, and
Sukhdev Singh, 36, stalked their 26-year-old victim before pouncing on
her in a doorway close to the Arches nightclub in Glasgow city centre.
The vice girl was saved by a cyclist who
spotted the men dragging her by the wrists after her ordeal.
The Singhs had only been in Scotland a few days, having moved to a
Sikh temple in the city’s Pollokshields in April.
They denied the attack during a trial at the High Court in Glasgow,
but they were convicted by a jury and face lengthy jail terms.
Their victim recalled how she was approached
by the pair near the Clydeside. She said they
tried to kiss her but she insisted she was not “working” before walking
off. As she waited at a nearby bus stop, they
returned to pester her. She told the jury: “I kept saying
I was still not interested and just to leave me alone. I was
annoyed and scared.” She decided to head towards
Glasgow Central train station, hoping police would be there.
But the pair– described as priests in court – pursued her and finally
trapped her in Midland Street.
She said: “They tried to talk to me and kiss me. I said ‘no’ again. They
were getting more annoyed. They were then pushing me into a doorway where
no one could see.
“I knew what was going to happen. I was crying and saying, ‘Stop, just let
me go’. “I was struggling and trying to get
away. The River Clyde was down the way I was being taken and I thought I
was going to be thrown in.”
Both men denied the rape allegation. Gurnham claimed the woman had stolen
money from them after agreeing to have sex.
Married Sukhdev said he was not aware what was happening in the doorway as
he had his back turned. The duo –
originally from India – had come to Scotland to work as priests in the
Sikh temple at St Andrews Drive, Glasgow.
They had briefly stayed in England after arriving in the UK, before
moving north just days before the attack.
Sukhdev was residing in the country illegally as his visa expired last
year.
Lord Pentland remanded the pair and will
sentence them next month.
He told them: “Due to the gravity of these crimes, it is inevitable that I
will impose a substantial period of imprisonment on you both.”
THE rapists’ victim was forced to relive her
ordeal twice in court – due to a bungling interpreter.
The original trial at the High Court in Glasgow had to be halted
after several days when a Punjabi-speaking juror raised concerns about a
translator. Evidence was not being relayed
correctly, forcing the case to be abandoned.
It meant the woman – who had already testified – had to
return to the witness box. One source:
“The interpreter had been hired to do a job, but failed. It was fortunate
that there was a juror who spoke the language and realised what was
happening.”