A head chef from Fife who raped a sleeping woman after she allowed him to spend the night at her home has been jailed for five years.
Ross Nicol took advantage of the victim at the flat in Edinburgh’s Slateford area on August 31 2018.
The woman woke to find the 31-year-old predator on top of her and grabbing her throat.
He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.
Nicol – also a former history and philosophy student – had earlier been convicted of rape following a trial in Edinburgh in May.
Jurors heard how the victim knew her attacker and they had been on a night out with others before the incident.
It ended up too late for Nicol to get home to Burntisland and the woman offered him the spare room at her flat.
On arriving, she went to bed but Nicol repeatedly got in beside her and started groping her.
The woman initially managed to push him away but she later woke as he raped her.
Continues to maintain innocence
Lawyer Frances Connor, defending, said Nicol continues to deny the crime.
“He had become quite a successful chef.
“This was in Fife and then a head chef in Glasgow.
“He lost his long-term relationship and his employment as a result of this conviction.
“His view is that he is not capable of this behaviour.”
Nicol appeared for the hearing on Tuesday via video link.
Lady Scott told him: “You repeatedly abused the woman while she was asleep and then raped her.
“You were persistent and forceful.”
Nicol was also put on the Sex Offenders Register.
