‘Evil’ Youth Faces Life In Jail For Raping Care Worker

A teenager who raped a care worker at knifepoint may never be released from jail after a judge imposed a lifelong restriction order on him. Steven Malcolm, 19, is only the second dangerous criminal in Scotland to be subjected to the order, which involves monitoring for the rest of his life.

Colin Ross was put on a similar order after savagely battering Marty Layman Mendonca, a teacher on holiday from the United States. She later died from the her injuries.

Judge Lord Menzies yesterday imposed the restriction while jailing Malcolm for nine years. The High Court in Edinburgh heard he was on bail and under a probation order at the time of the attack in Falkirk.

After the ordeal, Malcolm claimed to police that he was “a caring, gentle guy”, but added: “Last night I was evil.” The judge told Malcolm: “On the evening of July 20 last year, you went to a care home operated by Forth Valley NHS Trust to house vulnerable patients.

“You had no reason to be there. You were armed with a large knife with a blade of six to seven inches in length. You hid in a boiler cupboard in an upper flat in the house and when the victim and her co-worker came in, you jumped out waving a knife. You then abducted the victim at knifepoint and forced her to remove some of her clothing. You forced her at knifepoint downstairs to a room, which you locked and barricaded.”

Malcolm, of Camelon, Falkirk, subjected her to a “prolonged sequence of humiliating and degrading sexual abuse, including repeated rapes”, while holding a knife at her throat, the court heard.

The judge said: “You are a dangerous young man and pose a serious risk of harm to the public.” Lord Menzies said he would have had “no hesitation” in imposing a life sentence on the sex attacker under the previous law, but following a change in legislation, he was making a lifelong restriction order. The judge told Malcolm that he was required to fix a minimum period for his detention.

He added: “It does not follow you will be released at the end of the punishment part. In most cases, a convicted person is not released on licence at the expiry of it and may never be released on licence.”

Pat Wheatley QC, the defence solicitor advocate, told the court: “In his own words he feels very bad for the lady that was involved. He has, from a very early stage, acknowledged he has done wrong and accepted he requires appropriate punishment.”