A sex predator raped a woman in church grounds – eight years after he attacked another victim.
Craig Higgins, of Stevenston, was convicted yesterday following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
The 37 year-old had pounced on a woman outside St John’s Church in Stevenston, in July last year.
She had earlier travelled back from the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow.
Jurors heard how Higgins was in a bar she went to after returning. She branded him “a creep”.
The woman recalled later being invited to a house party by a friend.
Her next memory was wakening up with Higgins on top of her in the church grounds.
The victim told the trial: “I don’t know if I was screaming or just screaming in my head.
“I felt as if I was just watching what was happening to myself. I did not know if I would get home to my kids again.”
The woman tried hitting Higgins, but felt like she could not move properly.
She added: “I could see a big church in front of me.”
Two men passing by then rushed to her aid as Higgins sorted his trousers.
The sex attacker managed to flee the scene. The woman said she felt “dirty” after her ordeal.
She went on: “I did not want to get out of my bed. I did not want to speak to anyone. My life was never going to be the same again.”
She initially did not to tell her mum as it would “break her heart”. It was days later before the woman bravely went to police.
It emerged Higgins – who has a previous conviction for sexual exposure – had also raped another woman in Stevenston in 2010.
He denied both crimes during the trial.
But, prosecutor Alan Mackay told jurors: “Each involved him taking advantage of an unconscious woman.”
Lady Rae remanded a sobbing Higgins in custody as sentencing was deferred until the new year.
The judge told him: “I have to say that when you gave evidence you displayed an arrogance that I found quite concerning.
“You take no responsibility for your actions. You displayed a despicable attitude to women that you used as objects.”
Higgins was placed on the sex offenders list.
