A charity worker raped a young woman in a flat, causing “profound and long-lasting” consequences.
Tomas Diaz-Limaco was jailed for just three-and-a-half years after a judge said the act had been “out of character”.
The 28-year-old, who went to school in Broughty Ferry put his hand on the throat of his 24-year-old victim as she lay in a drunken sleep at the flat in Leith, a jury heard.
Then, while she was incapable of giving or withholding consent, he raped her.
Diaz-Limaco, of Craigentinny, Edinburgh, denied the offence.
He claimed he had been suffering from bipolar disorder and did not know whether he had raped her or not.
Jim Stephenson, defending, said his client had been admitted to hospital three weeks after the August 20 2019 rape and “accepted the possibility” he could have committed the crime.
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A jury at the High Court in Stirling last month found Diaz-Limaco guilty of rape.
On Wednesday, he appeared for sentence by video link from Low Moss Prison.
Lord Lake said because of the seriousness of the crime and its consequences, jail was the only appropriate sentence.
It is clear there have been profound, long lasting and distressing consequences for the woman involved.”
— Lord Lake.
Sentencing him to 42 months imprisonment and placing him on the Sex Offenders Register for life, Lord Lake told him: “Rape is one of the most serious crimes in Scotland.
“That seriousness is extremely apparent in the victim impact statement relating to this case.
“It is clear there have been profound, long lasting and distressing consequences for the woman involved.
“The jury did not accept that by reason of your mental condition you did not appreciate the nature and wrongfulness of your act.
“That’s why you were convicted.”
‘Out of character’
The judge added Diaz-Limaco was a first offender and on the evidence he gave, the rape “seemed entirely out of character”.
He said: “All these factors point to a lesser sentence than would normally be appropriate.”
Mr Stephenson said Diaz-Limaco, who undertook charity work in India, had since “educated himself into his illness so he could anticipate any difficulties if his mood took a swing”.
He said: “The risk he poses today is far less than he posed as an undiagnosed person at the time of the offence.
“He recognises the harm caused by sexual violence.”
Diaz-Limaco showed no obvious emotion as sentence was passed.
Members of his family, who had listened from the public benches, greeted the sentence in silence before being shown from the courtroom.
