Man repeatedly stabbed woman who refused to have sex with him then raped her

A violent predator repeatedly stabbed a woman after she refused to have sex with him before then raping her.

Rowan McKenna locked his victim in a flat in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh.

After she declined to have intercourse with him, he struck her with the knife on the body and held a blade against her face.

McKenna, 25, then raped the woman, who was in fear for her life, on July 27, 2023.

McKenna denied the offence during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh but was convicted of abducting, assaulting and raping his victim.

He was also found guilty of brutally attacking another woman who also refused to have sex with him a few months earlier at a flat in the Leith area of the city.

McKenna shouted at, threatened to stab and violently assaulted the woman on March 7, 2023.

After the jury found him guilty, they heard that McKenna has a significant criminal record, including for crimes of violence.

A judge told him: “You have been convicted of rape. This is one of the most serious charges that anyone can be convicted of in our courts. Without any doubt, you will be receiving a significant custodial sentence.”

Lord Scott said: “You may take it that the length of time that you spend in custody will be a considerable number of years.”

The judge deferred sentencing for the preparation of a background report and risk assessment and remanded him in custody.

McKenna, a prisoner in Edinburgh’s Saughton jail, was placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Lord Scott said: “You may take it you will be subject to the notification requirements for life.”