Sickening history of West Lothian rapist revealed as he is handed second life sentence

One victim was sexually assaulted with a bottle, slapped, punched, kicked, pushed and pulled.

Jack Grant was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday

A serial sex offender who raped and abused women and children in Scotland and England was handed a life sentence yesterday – while already serving one for offences committed south of the border.

Jack Grant, now 54, was a schoolboy when he targeted a nine-year-old girl and raped her repeatedly in Livingston.

His other victims suffered horrific ordeals during Grant’s three decades of offending.

The brute, originally from Broxburn, fled to England to escape allegations against him.

Once there, he targeted children for sexual abuse and in 2011 was jailed for life.

Following his conviction in Northampton, victims of his earlier crimes came forward and Grant was brought back to Scotland to face justice.

He was jailed at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday and ordered to serve at least five years. Grant was also slapped with an Order for Lifelong Restriction, meaning he may never be released after he was found guilty of 11 offences committed in Scotland between 1980 and 2010 against six victims.

The judge told him: “The sexual abuse of these complainers, as you must appreciate, represents some of the most serious encountered in these courts.”

Lord Burns said Grant refused to accept any degree of responsibility for his offending and therefore showed no remorse or understanding of the effect of his behaviour on victims.

The judge said: “You will remain a serious risk to any female who comes within your sphere of influence.”

Lord Burns said he recognised that Grant has already served ten years in jail in England, but added that he was “manipulative”.

He said that an eight-year-old girl who fell victim to Grant in 2010 at a house in Stranraer was abused “in the most serious fashion”.

After his first sex assaults on a child as a teenager Grant went on to rape a woman at an address in the Ladywell area of Livingston in 1985 when he grabbed hold of her, struggled with her, covered her mouth with his hand and threw her to the floor.

Another woman was subjected to rape, indecent assault and violence by him at houses in the West Lothian town in the same year.

She was sexually assaulted with a bottle, slapped, punched, kicked, pushed and pulled.

Grant also stubbed out cigarettes on her body, cut her leg with a knife and pinned her down and tattooed her.

He went on to use another woman as a punchbag at flats in Glasgow and molested a nine-year-old girl in the city.

Defence counsel Drew McKenzie said that Grant would have to satisfy the parole boards in England and Scotland before he is freed from prison after he was convicted of “very serious offences”.

Grant was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely. A man who committed a series of sexual and violent crimes spanning three years, he was jailed at Northampton Crown Court in 2011 for a 13 offences against three young children.

If Grant is ever freed, he will be on licence and faces recall to serve the rest of his life sentence if he offends again.

Following the case yesterday, detective inspector Nick Brookfield of Police Scotland said: “Jack Grant is, in every sense of the word, a predator who targeted young people over a number of years and subjected them to horrific levels of physical and sexual abuse across various parts of Scotland.

“Had it not been for the courage of these individuals in coming forward, Grant’s crimes may have gone unanswered for.

“I would like to personally thank all of those who provided us with statements, and testified in court, for their bravery and for their support of this investigation.”

Procurator fiscal for sexual offences Fraser Gibson praised the “strength and courage” of Grant’s victims and urged anyone else in the same situation to contact police.

He said: “Jack Grant is a serial sexual offender who has damaged countless lives over a period of 30 years.

“He will spend considerable time in jail as a result of violent, controlling and abusive behaviour.

“His victims have shown courage and strength throughout the investigation and prosecution process.”

When he was jailed in 2011, Judge Charles Wide QC said: “Your sexual offending went on for years and years, as you moved relentlessly from one girl on to the next to satisfy your perverted sexual desires but there was also an element to all of this of power and control.

“You were also relentless in the way you controlled the girls. It was offending of a very serious kind which must have destroyed their childhoods.”