A boy has admitted raping a young woman at knifepoint when he was just 14 years old, making him one of the country’s youngest sex attackers. His terrified victim told how she feared she was going to be killed when he grabbed her as she walked out of a supermarket and dragged her to a children’s playpark.
The victim, who was 16 at the time, said he forced her to remove her clothing, raped her and then photographed her.* She said: “He held the knife to my neck and said ‘if you make a noise or shout I’ll slit your throat. Don’t cry, don’t shout out or I’ll slit your throat right here.’
“I froze. I was terrified, there were people walking past but I couldn’t shout out. He kept saying he would hurt me and I was trying to be smart to get out of there alive.”
Last week, the boy, now aged 15, appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh where he admitted carrying out the horrific and prolonged sexual attack. He cannot be named because he is under 16.
His victim is speaking out because she is terrified that the boy, who she had never met before, will be spared jail under controversial sentencing guidelines for under 25s. Due to start university later this month, the 17-year-old said: “What he did to me has affected me massively.
“Since the attack I’ve tried to take my own life twice. I had to drop out of school months early and I nearly didn’t get into university. Everything I’d worked so hard for was almost gone in just an instant. I want him to go to jail, not only for what he did to me but for the safety of other people.
“If you’re walking about with a knife raping people at 14, that’s who you are. That’s what you’re capable of already at such a young age. He should not be given a lesser sentence because of his age.”
The horror attack took place while she was on her way home from a Sainsburys store in Prestwick, in Ayrshire two days before Christmas last year. The student had popped into a supermarket to buy dinner when she was attacked.
He forced her to remove her lower clothing and took intimate photographs of her on a park bench in the town’s Arran Park Play Park. Holding the knife to her throat he made her carry out a sex act on him before raping her.
The victim, now 17, said: “It was around 8.30pm and I was on my way back from Sainsburys where I’d gone to get a jar of pasta sauce. He was walking with two friends and followed me. His two friends started talking to me and I kept saying I needed to get home.
“His friends went and he jumped on me, that’s when I first saw the knife. When he took the pictures, that was one of the worst parts. It was just control, it was to humiliate me. I lied and told him my aunt lived across the road and she would be home about now and he told me to wait five minutes before leaving.”
The brave teen then watched as her attacker strolled across the park before running to the nearby Sainsburys car park for help. The woman, whose family are supporting her speaking out said: “I was in hysterics and I just ran.
“The pasta sauce jar was still in my pocket and it was weighing me down so I remember I threw it out and it smashed. I found a woman and ran up to her and told her I’d been raped. She took me into the store where they called the police and my mum.”
The teenage rapist, remanded to a secure facility for young offenders, will return to the dock for sentencing in October. He also admitted to a charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and admitted to having cannabis while in the play park.
The case has echoes of that of Sean Hogg, who sparked an outcry when he was spared a prison term over offences which took place when he was 17. Hogg, whose conviction for raping a 13-year-old was later quashed, was initially handed a community payback order of 270 hours of unpaid work under the sentencing guidelines.
Campaigners said this case shows legitimate concerns about under 25 guidelines. Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “While we understand the will to keep younger people out of the prison estate, for crimes as serious as rape, a robust and meaningful sentence must be given.
“It’s deeply concerning to see several cases of rape and serious sexual assault where the perpetrators are very young. We have concerns that the availability of violent and extreme pornography and that gender stereotypes and myths about sexual violence play contribute to a widespread rape culture.”
Rape survivor turned-campaigner Ellie Wilson who saw her ex-boyfriend convicted for rape slammed the current rules for young offenders. She said: “It’s deeply concerning that we’re seeing so many young rapists coming through the court system.
“It’s a clear sign that misogyny is hitting men young, and it’s more important than ever that we call it out. If you’re old enough to rape, then you’re old enough to face the consequences.”
Fiona Drouet, whose daughter Emily, 18, who took her own life after a campaign of abuse from her ex-boyfriend Angus Milligan in 2016 said: “This is an absolutely horrific case and the fact this offender could be handed a lesser sentence simply because of his age shows that our justice system is utterly skewed.
“We are sending out the wrong message to victims, to young men and to society. Absence of consequences is a key driver in these crimes. If you know you will be severely punished and your life hugely impacted, it may make some think again.
“But currently under our system, men, especially young men, who rape and destroy womens’ lives know that the consequences are limited.”
The sentencing young people guidelines came into effect in January 2022 after being approved by the High Court of Justiciary. They set out factors which should be taken into account when sentencing a young person based upon research into how young people develop physically and psychologically.
Figures obtained by the Sunday Mail under Freedom of Information shows that two 14-year-olds – including this case – and one 13-year-old were reported to Childrens Reporter for rape during 2023 and 2024.
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