A sex attacker from Arbroath is behind bars after being found to have raped a woman who could not consent due to the effect prescription drugs were having on her.
Following a four-day trial at the High Court in Dundee, Dennis Ford was convicted by majority of raping the woman.
40-year-old Ford was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and remanded ahead of sentencing on September 13.
Sex attack
Ford was found to have raped his victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between July and December in 2018.
At an address in his hometown, he assaulted the woman while she was asleep and under the influence of prescription medication.
She was unable to consent when he repeatedly pulled down her lower clothing.
After his victim woke up, Ford touched her breasts, removed her jeans and then raped her.
The jury unanimously found not proven a charge he raped the woman on various occasions between 2016 and 2018, while she was under the influence of prescription medication.
Remanded
Ford, of Cairnie Street in Arbroath, had denied the charges and had been on bail since appearing in private at Forfar Sheriff Court in June 2021.
The court heard his last previous conviction, a drugs offence from 2019, resulted in a four-month prison sentence.
Solicitor advocate James McCrone said: “He has no previous analogous convictions on his record.”
Judge Lady Drummond ordered reports ahead of a sentencing hearing at the High Court in Glasgow.
She said: “That is a serious sexual offence, an offence of rape.
“You have a criminal record.
“Most of it is for road traffic offences and drugs offences.
“You have most recently on your record been imprisoned for a drugs offence for a short period.”
He will find out how long he must register as a sex offender when he is sentenced.
History of drugs offences
As well as the offence from 2019 which saw him locked up, Ford’s record contains other drugs charges.
Ford had previously admitted possession of cannabis and being involved in cannabis production at his Arbroath home in August 2014.
Aged 31, he was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our Courts Facebook page.
