A SCOTS gym boss has been found guilty of raping two women he met on Tinder after faking his own death.
James Clacher, 57, carried out the sex attacks in 2019 and 2020 after meeting the victims on dating sites.
SolarpixHe was traced “hanging upside down” on exercise equipment on a beach in Spain[/caption]
SolarpixTwo undercover cops dressed as tourists then pounced on the fugitive[/caption]
Police ScotlandJames Clacher, 57, carried out the sex attacks in 2019 and 2020[/caption]
He staged his own death before being traced “hanging upside down” on exercise equipment on a beach in Spain in May 2024.
He has been found guilty following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
A suicide note was found before a major search was launched for the fugitive.
The gym boss was seen in Airdrie, Lanarkshire on May 30, 2022 and was reported missing after his clothes and Suzuki Swift car were found in Loch Long car park in Arrochar, Argyll the next day.
Cops received information which led to his capture in Nerja in Spain.
Video footage showed one male officer with a sunhat on running up to Clacher as a female police officer approached him from behind.
He is then cuffed and filmed with his back to the camera being led off the beach.
Detective Constable Jamie Crossan, who travelled with Clacher as he was extradited to Scotland, said he was “very friendly and chatty” on the flight home.
He was said to have “discussed how he staged his own death” and told of how he “survived on berries and puddle water” while on the run.
The court previously heard Clacher had made his way to England and into France where obtained a bike and cycled to Spain where he got involved in the local community and began personal training.
He was eventually traced to Nerja.
Giving evidence at his trial, Clacher insisted it was “not in his DNA” to hurt anyone.
More to follow…
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