Teenage rapist has new run-ins with police

A TEENAGE rapist who was spared jail by a judge has been in trouble with the police twice since, a court was told yesterday .

High Court in Glasgow. Picture: John Devlin

Connor Bull, from Stranraer, was given community service by Lord Burns after admitting raping a 12-year-old girl.

Yesterday he was back in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow for a review of his community payback order.

Lord Burns heard that 18-year-old Bull had been involved with police in relation to two incidents – one at a party and another at a football match.

Bull’s defence counsel, Simon Gilbride, said: “He was charged on two occasions with police. One was hi-jinks at a party and the other an incident at a football match where a man called him a paedophile. Neither of these went to trial.”

The court was told that Bull, who is on a sexual offenders’ programme, is rated as a medium risk of reoffending.

Bull has been volunteering and doing work in the community including in elderly residents’ gardens. Lord Burns told Bull: “There have been at least two occasions where you have teetered on the brink of getting into further trouble and that is worrying.

“That is because you are still socialising with those who led you astray. I would strongly advise you to turn away from these people.”

The judge ordered another ­review of Bull’s progress for January next year. He heard in court from one of Bull’s key workers who said that he was trying to get a job, but finding it difficult because he is on the sex offenders’ register.

Lord Burns asked: “Has he heard of the Prince’s Trust – they run courses” and was told Bull had put his name down.

Bull raped the schoolgirl in December, 2013, and later boasted of what he had done to a friend.

Lord Burns ordered Bull to perform 101 hours of unpaid work in the community.

Bull is under the supervision of social workers for three years and taking part in a programme designed to make sexual offenders realise the impact their actions have had on their victims.

Bull claimed he believed the girl was 16 and the court heard that on Facebook she had claimed to be 14.

The court heard how Bull had been with the girl and others before going to his Stranraer home. He later went into a bedroom with the youngster and asked “did she want to do it”.

The pair eventually had sex before the girl returned to her home with a friend.

The court heard Bull then told one of his own friends that he had “s*****d” the 12-year-old.

The incident came to light when the girl later went to hospital after complaining she felt sick. She eventually admitted to a medic that she had previously had sexual intercourse, which led to Bull being detained.