A HIGH-RISK, convicted rapist who carried out a sex attack on a lone woman after drinking on his 40th birthday was given an indeterminate jail sentence today (Friday).

Dean Stevens targeted the stranger as she walked through Pittencrieff Park early in the morning as she made her way to her work.

Stevens only broke off the attack on the woman after she bit his fingers as he tried to push her to the ground at the Glen.

He was jailed previously for six years in 2006 after subjecting a 15-year-old girl, who was also a stranger to him, to an ordeal of repeated rape in Edinburgh after approaching her from behind and forcing her into bushes.

A judge told Stevens at the High Court in Edinburgh that an expert report prepared on him following the attack in the Glen on May 24 last year had indicated that he posed a high risk of re-offending.

Lady Carmichael imposed an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR) on the sex offender and told him he must serve 27 months' imprisonment before he becomes eligible to apply for release.

But the judge said it was important to understand that the OLR was an indeterminate sentence and if Stevens came to be released, it would only be when parole authorities were satisfied his imprisonment was not necessary for the protection of the public.

The court heard that he carried out his latest attack on the 26-year-old woman after following her in the park on the Sunday morning as she went to meet a friend to be picked up for work.

Advocate depute Lindsey Dalziel said that as Stevens followed her, she became nervous and picked up her pace. But as she approached a cafe building she slowed to let him pass her.

The prosecutor said: "The accused then approached her from behind, reached over her and put his left-hand fingers in her mouth and pulled her. The accused put his other hand on her right arm and began to pull her."

"The complainer began to scream and he told her to 'shut the f*** up'. The accused was trying to push her onto the ground but the complainer bit his fingers.

"The accused pushed her into the bushes and ran away. She watched him and saw him fall over but he then got up and continued running," said the advocate depute.

The woman was shouting for help but there was no-one around at the time. She could taste blood in her mouth where Stevens had scratched her gums when he put his fingers in her mouth.

She made her way out of the park and met the friend who was due to give her a lift while she was crying and in a distressed state.

The woman returned to her home and contacted police, who launched an extensive operation, identifying the accused as a suspect.

Detectives turned up at his home near the park and Stevens said he had bought drink from a supermarket the previous evening before drinking alone.

He said he had little recollection of the evening because of the amount he drank but remembered sending a text message to his social worker as it was his 40th birthday.

He stated he had not been at public parks in Dunfermline but CCTV footage showed him leaving Pittencrieff Park about 6.24 am.

Ms Dalziel said: "He appeared furtive, was adjusting his clothing and broke into a run."

Stevens was detained at an address in Nethertown Broad Street, Dunfermline, on June 5 last year and items of clothing matching those seen on CCTV were seized.

Stevens, who was on the sex offenders' register at the time, earlier admitted assaulting the woman at Pittencrieff Park on May 24 last year with intent to rape her.

Defence counsel Michael Anderson said: "He was disinhibited by the use of alcohol prior to the offence which was committed."

Lady Carmichael told Stevens, who followed proceedings via a video link to jail, that he would be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely.