Edinburgh crime: Man who attacked friend as she slept is placed on sex offenders register

An Edinburgh man who sexually assaulted a sleeping friend who had visited him after she had attended a church service has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Bogdan Raczynski pounced on the woman as she slept on a sofa following a drinking session at his flat in the Magdalene area of the city last year.

Raczynski, 53, crept up to the woman in the middle of the night and pulled her leggings and underwear down before she woke up and shouted for him to stop.

The victim fled the home the following morning and after confiding in a friend decided to report the “frightening” incident to the police.

Bogdan Raczynski

Raczynski appeared in the dock at Edinburgh Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday after previously admitting the sex assault.

Defence agent Peter Winning said his client “accepted culpability” for the offence and said he had stopped the attack when the woman told him to.

Mr Winning said the first offender had a “good work history” and leads “a relatively quiet life”.

Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC said: “When this matter called before me previously I heard a full account of the circumstances and your conduct on the occasion I heard about was completely unacceptable.

“This must have been a troubling, upsetting and frightening experience for the woman concerned. I take account of the fact you stopped when she said she did want your advances. On balance I am satisfied there is an alternative to custody in this case.”

Raczynski was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and under the supervision of the local social work department for the next 18 months. He was also ordered to carry out 225 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Previously fiscal depute Jennifer McLaren told the court Raczynski and the woman had been friends for around 15 years and she had attended at his flat with a pal 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 said they woman, who cannot be identified due to legal reasons, woke up between 3am and 4am to find Raczynski “standing over her”.

The court heard he “grabbed hold of her leg and seized hold of her leggings” and tried to “pull these down”.

The fiscal said a struggle ensued where he “successfully managed to lower the clothing of [the woman] including her underwear” before she told him to stop.

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 contacted.

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