Ryan McConville, who raped sleeping woman in Musselburgh, sentenced to five years in prison

A sex offender who raped a sleeping woman has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Ryan McConville sexually assaulted his victim at a house in Musselburgh, East Lothian, while she was asleep and unable to give or refuse consent.

McConville, 29, of Ashgrove, Musselburgh, had denied the charges at a previous trial but was convicted of the offence committed on 1 November 2020.

His defence lawyer James Keegan KC told the High Court in Edinburgh: “It is not surprising that the defendant insists on his position.”

A judge told McConville that there had been no doubts about his past good character and that he had been a hard-working, responsible young man.

Judge Michael O’Grady KC added: “You will appreciate, however, that it is a truism to say that rape is rape.”

The judge said that, taking into account all the circumstances of the crime known to him and McConville’s personal background, he would set the sentence at five years in prison.

He issued a restraining order prohibiting McConville from having any contact or attempting to contact his victim for ten years.

The judge also informed him that after his conviction he would be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

McConville, who watched the verdict via television link from prison, was told that his prison sentence would be backdated to May 9.

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