Jailed for life but serial rapist Patrick Chinskie wins parole hearing after five years

One of Scotland’s most dangerous sex attackers has been granted a parole hearing just five years into a life sentence.

Patrick Chinskie was described as a clear danger to women when he was sentenced in 2015 after being convicted of raping five women over 23 years.

The sadistic serial attacker was made the subject of an Order For Lifelong Restriction with an initial punishment term of seven years.

But now Chinskie’s victims have been contacted by the Scottish Prison Service to be told the rapist will be able to ask to be released on licence at a parole hearing later this summer.

It is understood that time served on remand means the original seven-year term has been reduced to just over five.

Yesterday, Chinskie’s first victim said the justice system had betrayed her and the other women he attacked.Now 58 and a grandmother, the woman, who was forced to leave the West Lothian village she had grown up in to get away from Chinskie, said: “If he is freed, there is no justice in the world.”

Chinskie, 55, originally from Strathspey, attacked women in Paisley, Nairn, Inverness, Bathgate and Glasgow, He used makeshift weapons and knives to permanently disfigure some of his victims.

His first victim was raped on various occasions between 1990 and 1993 in Glasgow and West Lothian. Chinskie once jumped on the bonnet of her car as she tried to escape him, smashing his way through her windscreen.

He used a set of metal pliers on another victim and demanded she have an abortion, pulling her out of a car and raping her in a field. He later burnt her with cigarettes.

His first victim said: “When police knocked on my front door five years ago, I was forced to relive the horror of every single beating, punch and kick. I still have flashbacks today of the awful things he inflicted on me.

“It took all my strength to testify in court against him because I was determined to stop him destroying other women, and when he was sentenced to life I at least thought he would be kept in jail for a long time.

“When I received a letter from the parole board last Wednesday telling me that he is applying for early release, I was physically sick. How anyone could believe that it is safe to release Chinskie after just five years is beyond me.”

The victim added: “If I’d known that he’d be able to apply for parole after so little time, I would have seriously questioned whether it was worth putting myself through the pain of giving evidence in court and reliving everything he did to me.

“This isn’t justice for me, for any of us. I’ve been unable to trust anyone since.

“Even now, a loud noise or anyone shouting takes me right back to being a victim so there’s been no escape for me.”

Sandy Brindley of Rape Crisis Scotland said: “There is something very wrong with a system which puts these women through the agony of having to confront the prospect of his release after only five years into a life sentence.

“Time and time again we hear from survivors about how the justice system is intimidating and re-traumatising. More broadly, Scotland’s response to sexual crimes is just not acceptable.”

The Parole Board of Scotland said it did not comment on individual cases but added: “Order for Lifelong Restriction prisoners are considered, at the end of the punishment part, set by the trial judge, of their sentence, for possible release on licence by the Board.

“Under the Victim Notification Scheme, the Scottish Prison Service will write to registered victims under the terms of the scheme nearer the time the prisoner is due to be considered by the Parole Board.

“The Board will not direct release until it is satisfied that the prisoner can be safely managed in the community.”