Glasgow student who raped classmate in classroom sentenced to five years in prison

A student who raped a classmate in the classroom was sentenced to five years in prison.

Zineelabibine Abbood brutally attacked the girl during a lunch break at the Glasgow secondary school on November 29, 2019.

Despite her repeated protests, Abbood only stopped when a teacher entered the music room.

She found the traumatized victim “visibly disturbed” and in tears.

Abbood – now 21 – returned to the High Court in Glasgow after being convicted of the rape in May.

Judge Thomas Welsh KC told him: “You continue to deny your guilt and have shown no remorse.

“I have seen (a pre-sentence report) that says you showed no insight or empathy for the victim’s feelings.

“The damage you have caused is immeasurable.”

The jury heard that the two – both in their mid-teens at the time – initially played instruments in music lessons.

In his testimony, Abbood explained to his lawyer Paul Mullen that it was the girl who made advances toward him before any sexual contact occurred.

Mr Mullen asked him: “Did you want what happened that day to happen?”

Abbood said: “Yes, with their consent.”

Abbood claimed they then heard a teacher enter the room and stopped.

He told jurors: “I remember (the girl) saying she had had really bad news and I was comforting her.

“I told (the teacher) that I was sorry and that I did not mean to be rude by being in the room.”

Mr Mullen asked him if he knew why the victim had said the incident was not consensual.

Abbood said: “Maybe because the teacher found out and her friends teased her. She must have been embarrassed.”

But prosecutors said Abbood, who used to live in Riddrie in Glasgow, raped the teenager there, biting, pulling and groping her until she sustained injuries.

Deputy Solicitor Ruaraidh Ferguson questioned him about the teacher who had come into the classroom.

Mr Ferguson said: “She said when she entered (the girl) was visibly upset, with red eyes and a swollen face, and it was believed she had been crying for some time.”

Abbood responded that he thought the victim was “fine” although he “wasn’t paying attention to her face” at the time.

At one point, the prosecutor asked him: “That is not the case in this incident. She told you in various ways that she did not consent?”

“The girl said ‘no’ to you several times?”

Abbood said: “She didn’t say no. She agreed.”

Defense attorney Mullen asked the court to consider sentencing guidelines for people under 25.

He added that Abbood had no previous convictions and was not facing any legal proceedings.

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