A rapist who attacked a teenage student in a Dundee car park is appealing against his “excessive” jail term.
Mark Arnott, 37, caused his victim to suffer panic attacks and suicidal thoughts after his assault on the city’s West Henderson Wynd in November last year.
The rape was committed just 20 days after he had been released from prison for robbery.
He admitted the offence at the High Court in Glasgow, but the Tele can reveal Arnott is to appeal against his sentence on the grounds it was excessive.
Judge Lord Mulholland jailed Arnott for nine and a half years in July, as well as placing him on licence for four years after his release from prison and putting him on the sex offenders register.
The court previously heard the 18-year-old Dundee University student was seen walking as Arnott stood smoking a cigarette.
He was captured on CCTV running behind her and dragging her into the car park. He said to her: “Come with me. I have got a knife. I will stab you.”
In a bid to keep him calm and in the hope that Arnott would release her, she started talking as if the ordeal was consensual, the court heard. The teen “begged” to be let go and her cries for help were heard by a group leaving the nearby Downfield Musical Society.
Arnott’s counsel Ronnie Renucci said hsi client originally intended to rob the woman and could offer no explanation for his attack.
Lord Mulholland told Arnott: “You assaulted and raped a young woman who came to one of our great universities to study.
“She has suffered panic attacks, flashbacks, nightmares and suicidal thoughts. She is scared of the dark and has difficulty sleeping and finds it difficult to trust men.”
Arnott’s appeal will be heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.