Serial rapist who hit one victim with golf club during campaign of violence against women jailed

A serial rapist who hit one of his victims with a golf club during a campaign of violence against multiple women has been jailed for 10 years.

Both Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) branded James Kelly, 43, a “dangerous individual”.

Kelly preyed on six women in the Edinburgh area between 2014 and 2021.

His offending also took place during car journeys between the Scottish capital, Inverness and Fife.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Kelly assaulted one woman by pushing her down a set of stairs and beating her up.

Campaign of violence

During another attack he attempted to force her from a vehicle and kicked and choked her.

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Kelly also caused the same woman fear, alarm or distress by showing her a video taken of her in an intimate situation, without her consent.

Another victim was also violently attacked on various occasions.

Kelly dragged her by the hair, jumped on her, struck her with a golf club and choked her.

During another assault, he hit her with a crowbar, seized her by the hair and dragged her from a motor vehicle.

And while on a camping trip, Kelly forced the same victim to watch pornographic videos and abandoned her during the hours of darkness without transportation.

Kelly acted in an aggressive and threatening manner towards another victim, forcing her to listen to a recording of him being abusive to another woman.

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Kelly, who described himself as an unemployed musician, denied any wrongdoing but was in June found guilty of 18 charges following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Fourteen-year sentence

He was convicted of multiple sexual offences, including six charges of rape. He was also found guilty of a string of other offences, including threatening or abusive behaviour, as well as abduction, assault to injury and danger of life.

Kelly returned to the dock for sentencing on Monday, where solicitor advocate Iain McSporran said his client continued to protest his innocence.

Kelly was handed a 14-year extended sentence, with 10 years in jail and four years on licence once released back into the community.

He was also added to the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and banned from contacting his victims for 25 years.

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‘Inflicted unimaginable trauma’

Katrina Parkes, Scotland’s procurator fiscal for high court sexual offending, said: “James Kelly is a dangerous individual whose violent and predatory behaviour has inflicted unimaginable trauma.

“The bravery of his victims in coming forward and speaking with the authorities should be highly commended.

“It is thanks to their evidence that he has now been held to account for his appalling criminal conduct.”

Police Scotland said Kelly subjected his victims to a “shocking level of violence and sexual abuse”.

Remorseless individual

Detective Inspector Eirlys Fraser added: “He is an extremely dangerous individual, who showed no remorse for his behaviour, but he is now paying the price for his despicable actions.

“I would like to commend the women for their strength in coming forward during this investigation and helping us build a compelling case against him.

“I hope this outcome provides them with some sense of closure and allows them to move on from this horrendous ordeal.”

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