Clacher jailed eight years for sexual assaults, extradited from Spain

James Clacher, 57, was sentenced to eight years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on Wednesday after being convicted of the serious sexual assault of two women in 2019 and 2020. Clacher, who had gone missing in May 2022 while awaiting trial, fled to Spain and was detained by Spanish police working with British investigators in May 2024 before being returned to Scotland to face justice.

Jurors at the High Court in Glasgow found Clacher guilty of assaults that took place at the victims’ homes after the women met him via dating apps, in August 2019 and September 2020. The court heard the attacks came as a surprise to the complainants and that Clacher used deception about his identity and age. In one case the victim was assaulted within minutes of him arriving at her home, the judge said. Prosecutors also presented similar accounts from two female gym members that the jury did not need to resolve separately because of consistent detail.

On sentencing, Lord Cubie described the similarities between the two assaults as striking and said Clacher sought to blame and manipulate his victims, including telling one a false story about a relative to try to pressure her. The judge noted...