KAREN BUCKLEY’S KILLER Alexander Pacteau was previously accused of rape.
STV News reports the 21-year-old stood trial for attempting to rape a woman in a Glasgow lane, but he was acquitted after a five day trial.
Yesterday, Pacteau pleaded guilty to the murder of the 24-year-old Cork woman Karen Buckley in April.
The young student went missing in Glasgow after a night out with friends on 12 April.
Her body was found four days later on a Glasgow farm.
The court heard yesterday that he attempted to strangle Karen before hitting her multiple times with a heavy spanner in his car. Minutes earlier, she was spotted talking to Pacteau just after leaving The Sanctuary nightclub.
The Mirror reports that a spokesman for the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service said:
I can confirm that Alexander Pacteau was charged with sections 1 and 3 of the sexual offences (Scotland) Act 2009 on 27 November 2011 in Baliol Lane, Glasgow and that he was found not guilty at the High Court in Paisley in February 2013.
STV News reports Pacteau was charged with attacking a 24-year-old woman by trying to force her to perform a sex act on him in the early hours of 27 November 2011.
The news outlet has acquired the transcript from his previous rape trial in 2013 where Pacteau was described as a “daft young lad” who was involved in an incident that went “horribly wrong” by his counsel Sarah Livingstone.
His victim gave evidence in court.
Following a friend’s 21st birthday in the city centre she said she met Pacteau in Woodlands Road in the west end. At the time, he was aged just 17.
She spoke to him and he said they should share a taxi home. They had started walking up Baliol Lane when Pacteau grabbed the woman and threw her to the ground behind a car in the lane before carrying out the alleged sexual assault.
Nearby residents said they heard screams from the lane from a woman.
It’s reported that during the course of the hearing, he told the jury he was a homosexual who felt “overwhelmed” after being caught by officers near the scene of the alleged attack.
However, he said in court that the woman had slapped him in the face while they were in the lane and she managed to grab him to the ground where he struggled to get up.
He said his belt buckle had become undone as he fell in the lane.
The Daily Record reports Pacteau stating:
I don’t cower away from that. I did not sexually assault this woman. I would never make an attempt to sexually assault this woman. I believe rape is the lowest of the low. I’d rather be charged with murder than attempted rape.
Following the five day trial Pacteau was found not guilty by a majority verdict.
Pacteau will receive a mandatory life sentence for the murder of Karen Buckley. He is due to be sentenced on 8 September.
Yesterday the Buckley family thanked everybody in Glasgow and Ireland who helped them cope with this terrible tragedy.
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