Inverness rapist's bid for freedom branded "pathetic" by brave woman victim who ensnared him with secret recordings
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A courageous woman who helped convict an Inverness rapist by making secret recordings has called his latest failed bid for freedom “pathetic”.
Athletics champion Ellie Wilson (25) was raped by Daniel McFarlane while attending the University of Glasgow between December 2017 and February 2018.
McFarlane (24) preyed on Ms Wilson – who has waived her right to anonymity – at her flat in Glasgow's Finnieston between December 2017 and February 2018, but was arrested after the brave rape survivor gathered a catalogue of damning evidence against him.
It included sickening messages and a disturbing taped conversation where he admitted guilt.
The trial heard that first-time offender McFarlane, also a talented amateur athlete, was confronted by a mutual friend in a series of messages.
In one, he claimed: "I did not rape her again."
McFarlane then further said he knew he had "done things that are despicable".
He told jurors that he regretted sending such messages as he was "admitting to things that he did not do".
McFarlane was jailed for five years in July 2022 after being found guilty of two counts of rape and attempting to defeat the ends of justice after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
The former medical student was put on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, but tried to appeal his sentence and conviction twice, with the second attempt rejected in March this year.
On Thursday last week, McFarlane launched a further bid to appeal his sentence with the UK Supreme Court, which was again refused.
"I'm relieved that his appeal has been rejected again but I know this will not be the last of his pathetic attempts,” Ms Wilson told the Daily Record newspaper.
"He has already appealed and been rejected twice, but he won't stop and is determined to keep going.
"I learnt about his appeal from COPFS in a phone call. I was in complete and utter shock - I was shaking, I felt sick.
"As soon as I hung up the phone I burst into tears. Going to court in the first instance was one of the most traumatic and terrifying experiences of my life.
"To be put back into that same headspace by him is beyond cruel. My case was heard in the High Court almost a year ago and only last month I was celebrating his appeal being denied.
"I thought this meant I could officially move on, but he’s relentlessly tormenting me.
"The message this sends to others is one of despair.
“Convictions are already so hard to reach. My case has a huge amount of evidence and I managed to secure a guilty verdict, and now he’s using the courts to harass me."
Ms Wilson, who struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has campaigned for justice reform and called for UCAS to reinstate the requirement for university applicants to disclose serious offences such as rape or sexual assault.
She called for urgent action to be taken after discovering McFarlane was allowed to study at Edinburgh University in 2021, despite the university being aware of his charge and upcoming trial.
In 2019, UCAS removed the requirement for applicants to declare whether they have any relevant unspent criminal convictions, saying the main reason behind this was data protection.
Ms Wilson added: "Having my rapist behind bars definitely helped in the healing process. I’m still struggling with PTSD, but I felt like things were moving forward.
"I’d been focused on my campaigning and making an impact on the world. I was invited to the Scottish Government’s Criminal Justice Reform Bill launch - these are great achievements for me, but now he’s ruining them.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said: "An application to the UK Supreme Court which called today was considered and refused."
