Dundee bodybuilder jailed for six years after throttling girl, 16, in rape attack

A bodybuilder who throttled a 16-year-old girl during a rape attack has been jailed for six years.

Nicholas Grannell first met his teenage victim when she joined a gym, and he was assigned as her personal trainer.

The then 25-year-old became violent with the girl and put his hands around her throat during the assault at an address in Dundee on September 1, 2023.

A judge told the 27-year-old that there was no alternative to a custodial sentence, given the seriousness of the offence and the harm caused.

Lord Renucci said at the High Court in Edinburgh: “She was crying and telling you to stop, that she did not want it, but you ignored her and carried on.”

The judge said it was clear that the impact of the offending was significant and enduring.

In a statement following the sentencing, the victim described Grannell as “violent, manipulative and dangerous”.

Grannell, formerly of Dundee, had denied assaulting and raping the teenager during an earlier trial, but was convicted of the crime.

Defence counsel Gary Allan KC said Grannell had no previous convictions that were of any relevance.

Mr Allan said that numerous character references had been provided to the court on his behalf.

Lord Renucci told Grannell that he would be placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and made a non harassment order banning him from approaching, contacting or communicating with the victim.

In a statement via law firm Digby Brown, the victim said: “Nicholas Grannell will only spend six years in jail, but he has put me in a life-long emotional prison I can never escape from.

“I struggle to understand why this happened to me and how the confident girl I was is now isolated from the life I enjoyed.

“Grannell is a violent, manipulative and dangerous predator who abused his position to target me when I was just 16 years old.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same again, but I am dealing with what he did to me the best I can.”