Woman is raped by a classmate in the classroom during lunch break and has to go to prison for five years

A woman who was raped by a classmate in a classroom during lunch break at school has hit back after being sentenced to five years in prison.

She was attacked by Zineelabibine Abbood, who was 16 when the attack took place at a secondary school in Glasgow in November 2019.

Abbood, now 21, was found guilty in May in a trial in the city’s Supreme Court of raping the woman when she was still a teenager.

Last week he returned to court where he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Now the woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, has described the sentence imposed on her attacker as a “waste of time” after it took four years for the case to come to court.

She said: “I had just turned 16 when it happened. I was a kid, I was at school. I should have been safe.”

“What happened had a massive impact on my mental health.

“I’m still trying to come to terms with the impact of what happened to me in that classroom.

“Then it took four years to get to court, which was very emotionally and physically exhausting. I’m very scared when I leave the house because I spent the whole time waiting for it to go to court. He lived just five minutes away from me.

“After all the police testimony, the evidence and the victims’ statements, it seems to me like a waste of time to only give him five years when realistically he will only serve two and a half years.

“It feels like I went through hell for nothing.

“Rape is rape, no matter what age, and five years is not nearly enough for what he did to my life.”

In court, Abbood denied the allegations, forcing his victim to go to trial.

The jury heard that the two, who were teenagers at the time of the crime, had initially played guitar during their lunch break in music class.

He tried to claim that the girl initiated the sexual act, but prosecutors alleged that Abbood raped the girl, biting, pulling and groping her until she sustained injuries.

They said he harassed them with requests for sexual acts – and then insisted on “showing” her.

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

The teacher found the student “visibly disturbed” after the attack.

During the trial, deputy counsel Ruaraidh Ferguson questioned him about the teacher coming into the classroom.

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

Abbood told the court that he assumed the victim was fine, even though he “didn’t pay attention to her face” at the time.

He claimed that the victim had given his consent several times. But the jury did not believe him and convicted him of rape.

Passing sentence, 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.”

Russell Findlay, Scottish Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, said: “There is a disconnect between the SNP government’s rhetoric and the reality for female victims of sexual violence.

“Many rape victims say they regret engaging with the justice system because of delays, poor communication, weak sentences and the perverse way in which the rights of criminals are given priority.

“Another victim is so badly affected that she had to give up her anonymity to reveal the reality.”

Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “No survivor should feel that their interactions with the justice system have been a waste of time or lack a sense of justice.

“It is devastating that the survivor in this case feels this way after her experience and our thoughts are with her.

“It is also absolutely unacceptable that this case has taken four years to come to court. No survivor should have to wait that long for justice.

“Recent figures have shown that across Scotland, the time between a survivor reporting an incident of sexual offending and the case being brought to court is shockingly long.

“We hear so often from survivors about the severe impact of court delays on their lives and mental health. It couldn’t be clearer that urgent action is needed.”

The Rape Crisis Scotland helpline is open every evening from 5pm to midnight on 08088 01 03 02. Support via SMS, webchat and email is also available.

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