Army veteran who raped woman and sexually assaulted child jailed for eight years

An Army veteran who raped a woman and preyed on an underage girl has been jailed for eight years after showing no remorse for his crimes.

Alan McCullough attacked his victims in West Lothian between January 2016 and September 2018.

A judge told McCullough, 38, at the High Court in Edinburgh: “You have been convicted of very serious offences. You have shown no remorse or victim empathy.”

Judge Thomas Welsh KC said: “These offences were committed between 2016 and 2018, but the harm you have caused continues and is incalculable.”

First offender McCullough had denied a series of charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of two sex crimes.

He was convicted of raping a woman in West Lothian on various occasions when she was asleep and incapable of consenting to sex.

He was also found guilty of carrying out a sexual assault on a girl then aged under 13 at a house on an occasion between January 2016 and September 2017 when the child was pretending to be asleep.

The court heard that McCullough continues to deny committing the offences.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain McSporran KC said McCullough realised that only a significant custodial sentence could follow from his convictions for such offences.

He said a number of testimonials were before the court on his behalf, including from women.

Mr McSporran said McCullough had served his country and carried out two tours in Afghanistan during his time in the Army.

McCullough was told that he would be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely following his sentencing.