Aberdeen rapist in prison after eight years on the run

Remus Covaciu appeared at the High Court in Glasgow after being extradited from France

A rapist has pleaded guilty to attacking an 18-year-old woman after being on the run for eight years.

Remus Covaciu, 27, admitted attacking the teenager outside a club in Aberdeen on 19 January 2013.

A European Arrest Warrant was granted in July 2020 and Covaciu, a Romanian national, was extradited from France to Scotland in April 2021.

He pled guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to rape, failing to show for a previous hearing and breaching bail.

Covaciu will be sentenced next month.

Prosecutor John McElroy told the court the victim went to a friend's birthday party and then to Institute nightclub in Bridge Street, Aberdeen.

After leaving the club, she was seen on CCTV sitting on the pavement as Covaciu approached.

Covaciu, who lived in the Torry area of the city at the time, was seen chatting to the teenager then raping her.

A CCTV operator alerted police to the victim in the street.

Settled in France with family

Mr McElroy said: "When officers arrived, she was intoxicated, in a dishevelled state and had no recollection [of being attacked].

"Covaciu was traced to a nearby shop by police."

Covaciu was held in custody that night and appeared in court days later.

He failed to turn up to his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in November 2013 and failed to sign in at a police station twice while on bail.

A warrant was issued for his arrest at that time. He was later traced to France where he had settled with his partner and two children.

Lady Drummond remanded Covaciu in custody and deferred sentencing until next month in Aberdeen.

She also put him on the sex offenders list.