‘Despicable’ electrician tricked OAP couple into believing their son had raped teenage amputee, locked her in his car and planned to murder her
Ryan Rattray posed as the couple's son and convinced them he had bundled a 15-year-old amputee into the boot of his car and was planning to bury her in his garden.
A SOCIAL media prankster duped a frail elderly couple into believing their son had abducted and raped a child and was planning to murder her.
Ryan Rattray posed as the couple's son and convinced them he had bundled a 15-year-old amputee into the boot of his car and was planning to bury her in his garden.
The horrified couple were left thinking their son - who lived in Australia - was about to kill a teenager, as Rattray filmed the sickening hoax for the amusements of his online pals.
Rattray - who picked his victims at random - was described by a sheriff as "despicable" yesterday and told that he had narrowly avoided being sent to prison.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that Rattray, a 30-year-old electrician and father-of-two, had left the couple distraught for several hours before they managed to get hold of their son.
Fiscal depute Bill Kermode told the court: "The complainers are James McNeela, who is 81 and hard of hearing, and Eileen McNeela, who is 77. She suffers from anxiety, depression and bi-polar disorder.
"They have a son, Paul, who lives in Australia and they keep in regular contact with him by telephone. The accused is not known to either of them.
"At 1.10am they received a call which Mr McNeela answered. Due to being hard of hearing, he put it on loudspeaker and turned the volume up."
Rattray said: "I'm f***ed up Dad. I've sh*gged a 15-year-old and I don't know what to do. She's an amputee and I've put her in the boot of my car. I don't know what to do."
Mr Kermode told the court: "The accused seemed to be under the influence and sobbing and both assumed they were talking to their son.
"The accused said he had been at McDonalds and had been offered white powder and then met the girl who had given him the eye.
"Both tried to calm him down and try to make sense of what he was saying. Mrs McNeela said he should let the girl out of the boot of his car immediately as she must be terrified.
"Mr McNeela asked if she had been harmed. The accused replied that she had not been hurt."
In a bizarre coincidence, Rattray kept saying "don't tell Amanda" - unaware that the McNeela's son was in a relationship with a woman called Amanda.
Rattray then asked his ";parents": "Do you think I should dig a hole in the garden?"
Mr Kermode said: "Both were extremely alarmed by these comments, thinking their son had harmed or possibly killed an unknown girl."
Rattray - who was being filmed by laughing friends for a WhatsApp group - then broke off the call by saying: "Phone you tomorrow, love you mum."
The court was told "both witnesses were distraught" and had to console each other. They did not immediately call the police because they thought it was their son.
Dad, you dig a hole in the back garden and I'll do the rest.
Rattray in hoax phone call
At around 8.30 am the next morning, the couple managed to get hold of their son in Australia who told them it must have been a hoax and to contact the police.
Officers traced the call to Rattray's Perth home, where they found him hungover, and initially he denied making any calls to the elderly couple.
However, a search of his phone found the video of the 11-minute call. He was heard saying: "Dad, you dig a hole in the back garden and I'll do the rest.
"I had sex with a 15-year-old girl. I could go away for a long time because she is going to go to the police."
Rattray told police it was just a "prank call" and he told officers he was so embarrassed he did not want to watch the video again when they showed it to him as evidence.
Rattray, Raeburn Park, Perth, admitted sending a telephone message that was grossly offensive, menacing or obscene, in Perth on 10 November.
Solicitor Billy Somerville, defending, said: "This was extremely unfortunate for the complainers. It was a prank call to a number picked at random.
"Surprisingly he got the right name, Amanda, and that helped make them think it was real when it was not. For some time - overnight - they believed their son was in some kind of trouble.
"His friends found this amusing and that's why it was on social media. He regrets doing it and was appalled by what he did."
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Sheriff William Wood ordered Rattray to carry out 120 hours unpaid work and said: "This was an act that began with idiocy and ended with callousness.
"I'm very tempted to throw you in jail and you are very fortunate that is not how I'm going to deal with it. What you did can only be described as despicable.
"You persisted in this fabrication when you must have known, from the fact they engaged with you, that you would cause considerable upset."
Rattray left court without comment.