Edinburgh crime: Man who assaulted friend of 15 years as she slept on sofa placed on Sex Offenders Register

An Edinburgh man who sexually assaulted a woman as she slept on his sofa has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Bogdan Raczynski preyed on the sleeping woman after she and a friend had visited him after they had attended a church service in March last year.

Raczynski, 53, crept up on the woman in the middle of the night and pulled down her leggings and underwear at his home in the Magdalene area of the Capital.

Raczynski pleaded guilty to an amended charge of sexually assaulting the woman when he appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Bogdan Raczynski

Prosecutor Jennifer McLaren told the court that Raczynski and the woman had known each other for around 15 years and she had attended at his flat with a friend on March 29 last year.

Ms McLaren said: “Around 5.30pm [the victim] and a friend attended a church service together and following this [she] contacted the accused and asked if she could visit him and he agreed.

“Upon their arrival the accused was at home alone and the three sat together eating food and drinking alcohol. This was a mixture of whisky and vodka.”

The court heard the socialising went on for “a number hours” and after the women missed their last bus, Raczynski agreed they could stay over.

The complainer slept on the couch in the living room while her friend slept in the spare bedroom.

Ms McLaren added: “Sometime between 3am and 4am [the victim] awoke to observe the accused standing over her.

“She heard the accused speaking and he said something about sex, though she cannot be sure.

“The accused grabbed hold of her leg and seized hold of her leggings. He made efforts to pull these down.”

The fiscal said the woman grabbed hold of her clothing and “a struggle ensued” during which Raczynski was heard to say ‘oh, come on” and she told him “no”.

Ms McLaren said: “During the struggle the accused did successfully manage to lower the clothing of [the woman] including her underwear.”

The woman then lost consciousness and after waking in the morning she and her friend quickly left the flat.

The woman told her friend about the attack and the police were soon contacted.

Raczynski was subsequently arrested and during a police interview he told officers “the only thing I can say is I am sorry”.

Lawyer Peter Winning, defending, confirmed to the court his client had stopped any advances towards the woman after she had told him “no” and that she was in a relationship.

Sheriff Douglas Campbell QC said the sex attack was ‘a serious matter” and deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports to next month.

Raczynski was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for a term still to be decided.

Raczynski pleaded guilty to an amended charge of sexually assaulting a woman by removing her lower clothing, struggling with her and removing her lower clothing at his home on March 29 last year.