A RAPIST is facing trial for allegedly breaking rules placed on sex offenders to protect the public.

Steven McElwee, 28, was jailed for six years in 2012 for raping a 19-year-old girl in a block of flats in Johnstone on October 16, 2010.

McElwee, formerly of Graham Street, Johnstone, claimed he had consensual sex with the teen who had spent a night out with friends at the town’s Globe Bar. A jury didn’t believe him and he was convicted after a four-daytrial at the High Court in Paisley.

READ MORE: Johnstone couple accused of dealing drugs from home

McElwee was released from jail early but is being prosecuted for allegedly failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register while living in Johnstone’s Ryefield Avenue.

Prosecutors claim between September 1 last year and March 15 this year, he failed ‘without reasonable excuse’ to tell cops of a new bank card within three days of its issue.

READ MORE: Johnstone drug dealer snared with stash of guns

McElwee was not present when the case against him called for the first time at Paisley Sheriff Court. Not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf by defence solicitor David Nicholson.

Sheriff Moira MacKenzie adjourned the case until November for a pre-trial hearing to take place.

A trial date has been set for December