A MAN has appeared in court in connection with the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl in Dundee city centre.
Ryan Masters, 31, appeared briefly in private at Dundee Sheriff Court on a petition alleging that he carried out a serious sexual assault on the teenager on 10 November.
Masters, from Granton Terrace, Dundee, is alleged to have raped the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in the city’s Cowgate.
He entered no plea and the case against him was continued for further examination by Sheriff John Rafferty.
Masters was granted bail with special conditions.
He was ordered to stay out of Dundee city centre, not to approach or contact the complainer, and to remain indoors from 7pm to 7am each night.
Police patrols around the same area were stepped up over the weekend, with revellers being spoken to in case they visited the same area the previous weekend.
The alleged victim and her friend are reported to have left the Town House pub, on the corner of King Street and Cowgate, close to closing time in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The friend then left for home and the girl then reported being attacked in the car park between 1am and 1.30am.
The alleged incident was later reported to officers patrolling the area.
Chief Inspector Colin Echevarria has assured the public that Dundee city centre is a “safe area” with officers on regular patrols throughout the night.
He said: “Over the coming weekends we will continue those patrols and give that reassurance to the public that you are safe to come into Dundee and drink in our local pubs.
“If a crime of this type has happened then regardless of what you have done, whether it is underage drinking, we do not care about that now.
“We would not condone it, and we would ask people to please not go into pubs if they are underage. The onus is on the licensees in the pubs to ask for identification and ask for that.
“However, if you are a victim of a crime, regardless of your age, you should approach a police officer and tell them because they will treat you like a human being.
“They are not going to be interested in your underage drinking, they are going to be interested in what you are a victim of. It is really important coming into the festive period, if you are with your friend, stay with your friend.
“Dundee city centre is a safe place, crime rates are low and incidents like this are rare.”
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