Police investigating new report over jailed Tinder rapist

Police investigating new report over jailed Tinder rapist

An investigation has been launched into a new allegation of a serious sexual assault against a convicted double rapist who staged his own death and fled to Spain. Former gym owner James Clacher was recently sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of assaulting two women he had met on dating apps. The 57-year-old, hailing from Airdrie in North Lanarkshire, disappeared in 2022 and left a fabricated suicide note, but was apprehended by authorities two years later on a beach in Costa Del Sol.

Authorities in Scotland have confirmed that they have received a report of a potential serious sexual assault that took place in the Cambuslang area in 2017, with indications pointing to Clacher as the main suspect. Police have stated that the investigation is still in its early stages as they gather more information. Clacher’s trial revealed that he was last seen in Airdrie in May 2022 before his abandoned vehicle was discovered at Loch Long in Argyll, along with a note alluding to his intention to end his life.

Following public appeals by Police Scotland to locate Clacher, an anonymous tip-off led officers to Nerja, Spain, where he was residing. The Spanish Civil Guard recorded his apprehension in a dramatic video in May 2024, showing Clacher being subdued by law enforcement while using gym equipment on the beach before being extradited back to Scotland to face trial. The judge described Clacher’s self-imposed exile as exacerbating the suffering of his victims during the distressing ordeal they faced.

During the court proceedings, it emerged that Clacher’s initial victim met him on the dating app Tinder and was assaulted shortly after his arrival at her residence in Ayrshire in August 2019. The woman recounted being pushed against a wall, sexually assaulted, and subsequently raped by Clacher in her bedroom. A second victim, who had encountered Clacher on the Bumble app, was also raped at her home in Glasgow in September 2020 following a casual outing. Despite objections from the woman, Clacher proceeded to assault her, leading to her eventual report to the authorities. Clacher maintained his innocence throughout the trial, insisting that any sexual contact was consensual. The verdict saw him sentenced to eight years in prison, with an additional two-year period on license, with the starting point set at the time of his arrest in Spain

Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More