Rapist's victim secretly recorded confession in cafe

A rapist was caught after his victim secretly recorded his confession in a cafe, a court has heard.

David Smyth admitted having sex with the woman while she slept at a property in Falkirk in 2019, after she had been on a night out with friends.

The High Court in Stirling heard Smyth later told his victim: "You couldn't say no in the state you were in."

The 36-year-old was found guilty of raping the woman and remanded in custody. He will be sentenced on 19 November.

A jury deleted an allegation that he had raped her on "various occasions", changing the wording to a single occasion.

The court was told that Smyth's victim invited him to the cafe and initiated a "friendly" conversation, before holding her phone underneath the table and recording him.

The woman told the trial said that on several occasions during a relationship with Smyth, she had woken up in the morning with a feeling that she had had sex without being aware of it.

She decided to confront him after reading a report titled "The Sexual Assault of Sleeping Women."

On the recording, which was played to the jury, she asked him why he had sex with her while she was asleep after the night out.

Smyth said: "Because I wanted to have sex. I liked having sex. I liked being in control. You weren't saying no."

She replied: "I couldn't say no."

He replied: "No, you couldn't say no, not in the state you were in", and added: "I think in a way it was to feel powerful."

The court heard that the woman had a number of conversations with Smyth about him having sex with her when she was not aware it was happening.

She said: "It was he who said 'rape'. He said, 'I'm sorry I raped you'. I remember gasping."

Giving evidence from behind a screen, the woman said she had been left "horrified, terrified and scared."

She added: "I have nightmares about it."

The woman said she had not confronted him at the time, but did so after their relationship ended.

Smyth then admitted he had sex with the woman when she had been "not conscious".

The court heard that he said to her: "If you ever want me to go to the police to say what I've done, I'd do that – I'll admit what I have done."

He went on to message her: "I wish I could go back and stop it from happening. I regret it every day. I did it, so I should feel bad."

During his evidence, Smyth denied rape, and said that all sexual intercourse with the woman had been consensual.

He told the jury: "I thought back to my time with her and I came to the conclusion that I had not raped her."

Smyth claimed he had made his admissions to "appease" or "placate" her.

Prosecutor Carrie Stevens said his evidence was "ridiculous."

Defence advocate Jonathan Crowe said the woman had "lured" him to the cafe and asked him a series of leading questions.

Judge Lord Young deferred sentence until 19 November at the High Court in Edinburgh.