Teen sent threatening messages to schoolgirl before raping her

A teenager sent threatening messages to a schoolgirl before subjecting her to a rape attack.

Kamryn Painter sexually assaulted and raped the underage girl despite her telling him she did not want to have sex with him.

Painter, 19, of Galashiels in the Scottish Borders, had denied attempting to rape and raping the girl between October 2021 and February 2022, when she was aged 14 at an address in Midlothian, but was convicted of the offence.

He was also found guilty of engaging in a course of abusive behaviour towards the victim.

He acted aggressively towards her, repeatedly phoned and messaged her and sent messages containing abusive comments and threats.

During his trial at the High Court in Edinburgh Painter was asked about the rape accusation and said: “It’s not true. I didn’t do it.”

Painter claimed that he would never do anything like that and said he was angry when the accusation was made “because I didn’t do it”.

But the victim told the court that Painter was manipulative and said: “He makes you think you want to do things you don’t want to do and pressures you into doing it.”

She said Painter wanted to have sex with her but she said no. She said: “Obviously he is a lot stronger than me and he did what he did.”

“He got on top of me. He is a lot stronger than me, I couldn’t move him. He wasn’t listening to me. He raped me,” she said.

After the jury verdict Painter was placed on the sex offenders’ register and remanded in custody. The judge, John Morris KC, deferred sentence on him for the preparation of a background report.