SENTENCING STATEMENTS

On sentencing Judge Norman McFadyen made the following statement in court:

"Darren Bourn, you have been found guilty of three serious sexual offences, all committed in the one summer evening in July 2021.   In the course of the evening you encountered your first victim, a 71 year old lady who was out for a walk near her home and you engaged her in initially apparently inoffensive conversation before asking her questions of an indecent character and suggesting that she go with you into a grassy area with trees. 

She had the maturity and presence of mind to fob you off and go straight to a friend’s house, in order to get away from you and avoid you knowing where she lived.  She was sufficiently and rightly alarmed by your behaviour that she called the police.  In the meantime you had approached a group of children in a nearby park, which was off your route home and had engaged them in conversation and cadged a cigarette from them.  The fourteen year old victim of the most serious charge was one of that group.  She wanted to buy more cigarettes, but was too young to do so and you agreed to accompany her to a shop and purchase cigarettes.   While you were with her she told you what age she was.   She was fifteen years your junior. 

You went into the shop alone and while there you made a grossly indecent remark to the (again) older lady at the till, before rejoining the girl outside.  She was heading home, but you insisted on joining and accompanying her on the way, which was in the opposite direction from your home and you led her into a wooded area within a park where you kissed her and performed indecent acts on her and raped her, despite her protestations and despite her again telling you she was only fourteen.

Her blood curdling screams were heard by the occupier of a nearby house who was in her garden and she was sufficiently concerned to dial 999.   Her screams were also heard from some distance by her anxious parents who were concerned that she had not come home and was not answering her phone, but were able to track her approximate location through an app on her phone and they eventually found her, still in the wooded area and in a hysterical condition.  You for your part had simply headed off further into the wooded area and home once your purpose with her was served. 

When you were interviewed by the police you seemed to suggest that the girl had made you do things, but in your evidence at trial you said that was not right and you gave an unconvincing explanation as to why you had said that.

Your behaviour has not surprisingly impacted significantly, both on your first victim and in particular on the fourteen year old rape victim and especially on their confidence.

The criminal justice social work report which has been prepared in this case assesses you on the risk assessment for adult male sex offenders as high risk relative to other adult male sex offenders.

You have a relatively minor previous offending record, for reckless or negligent driving, driving with excess alcohol and possession of drugs in South Africa and for driving while unfit in Scotland, for which you were fined in 2020; and you were sentenced to 80 days imprisonment on 16 February 2022 for threatening and abusive behaviour and vandalism.  Your record does appear to confirm an issue with alcohol and possibly also with drugs, although you told the author of the social work report that you had not consumed illicit drugs prior to the day in question.

I take account of all that has been said on your behalf, but you have committed a very serious sexual offence against a vulnerable victim who was only fourteen and on the same evening have made offensive sexual remarks to two older ladies.  What is clear from the evidence is that on the evening in question you displayed a very troubling preoccupation with sexualised behaviour towards females of a significant range of ages, all of whom were total strangers to you.  The evidence of your deplorable behaviour that evening towards different females is entirely consistent with the risk assessment.

Because you have been convicted of a serious sexual offence I am concerned to ensure that the public is adequately protected against serious harm from you when you are eventually released.  For that reason, in respect of charge 3, the charge of rape, I am going to pass on you an extended sentence of eleven years, which is in two parts.

The first part of the sentence is an immediate period in custody of eight years, which will be backdated to 25 August 2021 in light of the time spent on remand.

But this immediate period in custody is not the end of your sentence.  The second part of your sentence will be served in the community. From the date of your release, you will be under licence for an extension period of three years. The conditions of your licence will be fixed by the Scottish Ministers. If during this extension period you fail to comply with the conditions of your licence, it may be revoked and you may be returned to custody for a further period in respect of this case.  The court also has power to deal with you if you commit another offence after your release and while you are on licence.

As regards charges 1 and 2, the sentence is one of two years imprisonment on each charge, to be served concurrently and also concurrently with the custodial period on charge 3.

You have already been informed that you will be subject to notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  In light of the sentence I have passed you will be subject to these requirements for an indefinite period."

 3 April 2023