Inverness businessman jailed for brutal rape
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AN Inverness businessman who brutally assaulted and raped a defenceless woman has been jailed for 51 months today.
Thomas Eccles (46) of Margaret Street, Inverness, was locked up at the High Court in Edinburgh.
He was convicted of raping the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after a four-day trial at the High Court in Inverness last month.
During those proceedings, the court heard how Eccles, who previously ran a Thai restaurant in Inverness, attacked the female at an address in the city.
He repeatedly punched his victim before forcing her to perform a series of degrading sex acts on him. He then forced her to have intercourse with him.
The woman told the court that during her ordeal, she cried and asked him to stop. But Eccles ignored her pleas for mercy and continued to abuse her.
After the attack ended, the woman walked to a nearby branch of Tesco and told a security guard about what happened to her.
Eccles spent his trial denying the attack, claiming that he had consensual sex with her.
Onlookers say he was stunned when the jury returned a guilty verdict.
On Friday, defence solicitor advocate Gordon Martin told the court that this was the first time Eccles had been in trouble with the law.
He added: "He has lost everything that he has worked for throughout his life. He had a business. He knows his life is ruined.
"He is a first offender who has no previous criminal convictions. I would ask your lordship to take these factors into consideration when passing sentence."
Lord Bannatyne told Eccles that he would spend the rest of his life on the Sex Offenders Register.
The judge added: "Given the gravity of the offence, there is only one disposal open to this court and it is a custodial one.
"You will go to prison for four years and three months."
