A CRIMINOLOGY student at Liverpool University has been sentenced for the rape and sexual assault of two women.
Ewan Blair, 20, of Crown Place, Liverpool, met both women in the autumn term of 2023 and both said he seemed friendly at first.
He met one of the women in a bar in Liverpool city centre and talked with her on several occasions as the evening went on. He seemed chatty and friendly.
Blair persuaded the woman to let him go with her to her accommodation. But, when there, he quickly became physically and verbally aggressive and she became scared.
She told him to stop but he wouldn’t. He finally left the room a few hours later, having sexually assaulted her.
The victim reported the incident to the police.
Less than a fortnight later, Blair began chatting to another woman in Liverpool.
Again, he seemed friendly and chatty and invited the victim to wait for her taxi in his accommodation.
He pulled her into his room and raped her several times. When he finally allowed her to leave a few hours later he told her to “look pleased”. She reported the incident to the police the following day.
Blair was arrested on 1 October 2023 and questioned. He insisted that the sexual encounters with both women were consensual and that he hadn’t used force or violence.
It emerged that he had previous convictions for assault and several other students had flagged up his misogynistic behaviour.
He was charged with five counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault, one count of assault, false imprisonment, intentional strangulation and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent.
He denied all the charges and a trial began in Liverpool Crown Court on December 9, 2024. On 19 December, the jury found him guilty of four counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. He was acquitted of the other charges.
On February 5, 2025 at Liverpool Crown Court, Blair was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The Crown Prosecution Service also successfully applied to the court for restraining orders to be imposed to prevent Blair being able to make any contact with the victims in the future.
A 'dangerous sexual predator'
Wendy Newton, a specially trained prosecutor with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit at CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “Ewan Blair is a dangerous sexual predator.
“He befriended women and then subjected them to serious sexual assaults.
“It appears that Blair’s attitude to women in general was extremely disturbing and he seems to have believed that violence towards women was something that was acceptable. Their feelings didn’t matter at all.
“These women have spoken of the violation and trauma they have felt since the incidents. But they have also spoken of their determination to rebuild their lives and carry on.
“The Crown Prosecution Service would like to pay tribute to them and we hope that this successful prosecution will help them in their journey forward.”
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