Rapist jailed over murder bid

The attack took place in Dundee in March

A convicted rapist who condemned a woman to "a living death" with a "brutal and unwarranted" attack has been jailed for 12 years.

George Cameron repeatedly punched and kicked his victim and locked his arm around her neck before throwing her down some stairs.

The groaning woman was found badly injured by late night revellers and was not expected to survive.

The 23-year-old mother-of-one suffered brain damage and now cannot speak or feed herself and is in "a highly vegetative state", the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

Cameron was sentenced at the High Court

Lord Dawson told Cameron: "This was a brutal, unwarranted attack on a young woman.

"Having attacked her, you left her for dead and that is, to all intents and purposes, what she is."

Cameron, who was described as a vagrant who has never held down a job, admitted attempting to murder his victim on 7 March this year at Foundry Lane, in Dundee, by assaulting her to her severe injury, permanent impairment and disfigurement.

He was also originally charged with raping his victim, but the Crown accepted that allegation should be deleted.

Anger problems

Cameron, 23, was released months earlier from a six-year sentence for rape imposed by an English court in 1998.

The registered sex offender has also served a five-year term for causing death by dangerous driving.

He was described as having an anti-social personality disorder and anger problems.

He was first expelled from school at the age of 11 for assault.

Elish Angiolini said the victim's prospects were poor

Solicitor General Elish Angiolini QC said Cameron's latest crime bore "a fairly sinister similarity" to his earlier rape attack.

The court heard that Cameron had been on a drink and drugs binge in the days proceeding the assault in Dundee.

The victim, who was described as a "fairly vulnerable" person, had gone out on the evening of the attack to seek business as a prostitute.

Cameron visited a pub and a nightclub and was captured on city centre CCTV walking towards the area of Foundry Lane.

He was seen to meet up with the woman and head into the lane. Patrons from a nightclub later found her lying at the bottom of stairs after being alerted by her groaning.

'Dangerous man'

The solicitor general said: "At that point she was not expected to survive. Police believed they were dealing with a homicide."

The victim was bleeding heavily and had a fractured skull, nose and cheekbone and suffered a brain injury.

The attack was called brutal and unwarranted

She was also showing signs of asphyxiation and had sustained hypothermia.

Surgeons operated immediately on her to relieve pressure in her skull and to help her breathe more easily.

She has shown very little improvement in her condition since the murder bid.

The solicitor general said: "The prognosis could be described as grim."

Mrs Angiolini said the actual details of the attack on the victim may never be known.

When Cameron was detained by police he told them: "I will take what I deserve."

Defence counsel Edgar Prais QC said: "There is no doubt that this is an awful assault with terrible consequences."

Mr Prais added: "This is an awful tragedy. He is clearly a dangerous man and his victim, to all intents and purposes, has lost her life."