A triple rapist from Perth is back behind bars after police caught him using a bank account illegally.
Graeme Bell was jailed in 2014 for a series of sexual attacks and robberies in the city centre.
He was sentenced to seven years and 11 months and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Bell was released on licence in August 2020.
But the 43-year-old has now been returned to jail after operating a TSB account for nearly nine months without telling police – a breach of his sex offender notification requirements.
Notification requirements
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson told Perth Sheriff Court police carried out an unannounced visit to Bell’s Alexandra Street home on February 20 2023.
“He complied with the visit and advised he had been using a bank account since May or June 2022.”
Ms Hodgson said as part of Bell’s requirements, he must to tell police of any new bank accounts or credit cards within three days.
He was told to go to Perth police station and formally notify cops of his change in circumstances.
Bell pled guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements between June 2022 and February 2023.
Recalled to prison
The court heard Bell was recalled to prison following a conviction for threatening or abusive behaviour.
Solicitor Mike Tavendale said his client’s earliest release date was March 2027.
He said father-of-one Bell had found employment after being liberated.
The court heard how Bell was advised by a social worker to open the account – but she also told him to alert police.
“He clearly hadn’t done so,” said Mr Tavendale. “It was certainly an oversight on his part.”
The solicitor stressed there was no suggestion the account had been used improperly.
Sheriff Derek Reekie told Bell: “These conditions are there for a reason, as you are well aware.
“You are serving a sentence after being recalled and there is no alternative to custody.”
The sheriff imposed a concurrent four month sentence.
Victim’s evidence
Bell was found guilty of raping three women in 2012 and 2014 following a trial at the High Court in Perth.
The then-drug addict robbed two of his victims and attempted to rob a third.
All three were workers in the city’s sex trade.
They told how he’d threatened them and attack them within city centre properties while demanding money.
One woman told jurors how he grabbed her by the throat and threw her onto a bed.
“I kicked, raised both my legs and kicked out at him and he hit the wall,” she said.
“I tried to leave the room but he was already up and bouncing about like Rocky – adopting a boxer’s stance – and then he punched me.”
The witness said the blow had almost knocked her out and had succeeded in “making her compliant” as she simply “wanted to get out alive”.
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