Overview

• James Clacher, 57, was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh to an extended 10-year term comprising eight years in prison and two years on licence.
• The sentence was backdated to his May 2024 arrest in Spain, and he was placed on the sex offenders register for life with 10-year non-harassment orders.
• Judge Lord Cubie described his flight as “cowardly” and cited striking similarities between the attacks, manipulation of victims, and lack of remorse in imposing the extended sentence.
• Clacher faked his death in May 2022 by abandoning his car and a suicide note at Loch Long before being traced to Nerja and arrested by the Spanish Civil Guard through UK–Spain cooperation.
• Both victims testified he raped them in their homes after meeting on Tinder and Bumble, and his lawyer said he continues to deny the offences.