A predator who raped a young woman while at liberty for a similar attack has failed in a bid to have his 10-year jail term slashed.

Dorel Simion was convicted by a jury of pouncing on the terrified victim near an underpass in Pine Crescent in East Kilbride on June 26, 2021 - having raped another woman in a lane in Campbell Place on August 29 the previous year.

The 30-year-old, who had come to Glasgow from Romania, was out on bail for that sex attack when he struck again.

Simion, who acted with accomplice Bogdan Paduraru, 28, was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow having earlier been convicted of both at trial.

His defence team lobbied to have his sentence reduced by three years, claiming it was excessive because he had no analogous previous convictions, a settled family life and a good work record. His lawyers claimed the trial judge, Lady Stacey, had given insufficient weight to all of these factors when locking him up for a decade.

However, three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal in Edinburgh this week tossed out the appeal - labelling Simion's behaviour as 'deplorable'.

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A written judgement released by the panel said: "We are satisfied that the sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment was not excessive.

"These were each serious offences in their own right, deserving of substantial punishment. The appellant raped two highly vulnerable victims when they were incapable of consenting, as he would have been fully aware. The second rape was aggravated by being committed while the appellant was on bail for the first charge.

"His conduct on each occasion was predatory and displayed a deplorable lack of respect for his victims, each of whom was subjected to very degrading sexual attacks. The criminal justice social work report disclosed that the appellant had little insight into the impact of his offending. We are entirely satisfied that the cumulo sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment was not excessive in view of the gravity of the offences."

The original trial had heard how Simion and Paduraru had 'taken advantage' of a woman who had been walking from her home nearby. Prosecutors said that she was intoxicated at the time and unable to consent to sex.

Simion appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court on September 9, 2020, before being allowed back on the streets. He denied the accusations and continued to maintain his innocence.

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Jailing Simion after the trial in January, Lady Stacey told him: "It is very concerning that you committed two serious crimes in the space of less than a year - the second one while on bail.

"You claimed to the social worker not to understand why anyone would force another person into sex, but that is exactly what you did. Neither of the women could consent to sex and could not defend themselves against you."

He is likely to be returned to his homeland on his release.