Man jailed for teenage rape of schoolgirl in classroom

16 July 2024

A man who raped a fellow pupil while still at school has been jailed for five years.

Zineelabibine Abbood attacked the girl during a lunch break at a Glasgow secondary school on 29 November 2019.

Despite her repeated protests, Abbood only stopped when a teacher came into the school's music room.

She found the traumatised victim "visibly upset" and in tears.

Abbood, now 21, returned to the High Court in Glasgow having been convicted of the rape in May.

Judge Thomas Welsh KC told Abbood that he had done "incalculable" damage to his victim.

He said: "You continue to deny your guilt and have shown no remorse.

"I have seen (a pre-sentencing report) which states that you have shown no insight or empathy in regard to the victim's feelings."

Classroom assault

Jurors heard how the pair - both in their mid-teens at the time - had initially been playing instruments in the music classroom.

In his evidence, Abbood told his lawyer Paul Mullen that it was the girl who then made moves towards him before there was sexual contact.

Mr Mullen put to him: "Did you want to happen what happened that day?"

Abbood replied that he did, but with her consent, and that they stopped when the teacher entered the room.

He told jurors: "I remember (the girl) saying she had had really bad news and that I was comforting her.

"I was saying (to the teacher) I was sorry and did not mean to be rude by being in the room."

Mr Mullen asked him if he knew why the victim said what occurred was not consensual.

Abbood, who has no previous convictions, said the girl must have been "embarrassed" at the teacher finding them.

But prosecutors said Abbood, formerly of Glasgow's Riddrie area, had instead raped the teenager

During the attack the victim was bitten, pulled and groping to her injury.

Advocate depute Ruaraidh Ferguson asked Abbood about the teacher coming into the classroom.

Mr Ferguson said the teacher had found the victim upset and believed that "she had been crying for some time".

Abbood said he reckoned the victim was "fine" although he had "not been paying attention" to her face at the time.