Glasgow court finds man guilty of raping doctor and committing indecent act during trial

A 34-year-old man, Mihai Nicolae Patran, has been convicted of raping a young doctor in Glasgow city centre and later committing a lewd act while appearing in court.

Patran, a Romanian national with no fixed address, attacked the 27-year-old doctor on Mitchell Street in the early hours of 26 November 2023. The victim, who had been on her way to meet friends after a house party, was approached from behind and violently assaulted.

She told the High Court in Glasgow that she repeatedly begged him to stop, saying: “I do not think I could have made it any more apparent that I did not want any of it.”

The terrified woman eventually escaped — naked from the waist down — and ran into a waiting taxi, where she contacted her sister and a friend for help.

Following a police investigation, Patran was arrested and charged. During his first appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court, he shocked onlookers by performing a sex act on himself while handcuffed to a female custody officer. The officer immediately reported the incident to the presiding sheriff.

It was also revealed that a month before the rape, Patran had exposed himself to a woman on a train travelling between Perth and Stirling on 22 October 2023.

A jury found him guilty of rape, public indecency, and sexual exposure.

Patran has been remanded in custody and placed on the sex offenders register. He faces a lengthy prison sentence when he returns to court for sentencing next month.