Rapist police officer accused of earlier attack – but case was dropped

A police officer jailed for raping two women was first accused of sexual assault 12 years ago, but the case was abandoned before going to trial.

Cameron Ross was jailed for 10 years on Thursday for attacking the women and subjecting a third to years of violent abuse.

But it has since emerged that he was able to continue working as a police officer for six years after he was cleared of an earlier rape allegation.

Ross, 39, was suspended by Police Scotland in 2014 when a woman alleged he had raped her on the Isle of Lewis.

After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors dropped the case in 2016, reportedly the day before Ross was due to face a jury.

An internal disciplinary process subsequently exonerated the officer and he was reinstated by the force.

The Press and Journal, external newspaper has reported that the woman who made the allegation feels she has been “denied justice”.

She told the paper she “would never get closure”, because of how Police Scotland handled the original inquiry.