Former bodybuilder raped, sexually assaulted and abused women

A former bodybuilder raped, sexually assaulted and abused women over a five-year period.

Damien Harrier, 31, abused victims at locations in Perth and in Fife and accused one woman of giving him a sexually transmitted infection when he knew she did not.

Harrier, formerly of Perth but latterly living in Yorkshire, denied a series of offences during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh, but was found guilty of nine charges – five of rape, two of assault and two of abusive behaviour.

A judge told him: “You have been convicted of serious sexual offences against three women and convicted also in respect of abusive behaviour towards two of them.”

Lady Haldane said: “Given the nature of these convictions, a custodial sentence is inevitable.”

The judge called for a background report to be prepared on Harrier, who has never previously served a prison sentence, and remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing next month.

Harrier told the court there were times he took part in bodybuilding and powerlifting and acted as a personal trainer.

He accepted in evidence that he was a jealous person and told the court: “I have always suffered from low self-esteem and questioned my worth.”

A relative of one victim said that the woman told her that Harrier raped her.

“She said that it happened on several occasions. She had asked him to stop, and that he didn’t or wouldn’t, and that he seemed to get a kick out of seeing her in pain and discomfort and saying ‘no’,” she said.

Harrier began his offending in June 2018 when he assaulted and raped his first victim in Perth on several occasions. During the abuse, he grabbed the woman by the neck and throttled her, restricting her breathing.

He also shouted and acted aggressively towards a second woman and isolated her from her friends and monitored her mobile phone use between September 2021 and June 2022 at locations in Perth, Dunfermline and St Andrews. On one occasion, he subjected the victim to a penetrative sexual assault.

The woman said she met him through her interest in bodybuilding. She said: “I began to really like him. I felt he was quite a cool guy.

“Maybe something of a bad guy as well, but towards me, he was affectionate.”

But she then started to see another side of him. She said: “He got super, super angry all of a sudden.” The woman said Harrier would act aggressively and was “a big guy”.

A third woman also saw Harrier acting aggressively and shouting at her as she was targeted for abuse between August 2022 and February 2023. She was also isolated from friends, and her phone usage was monitored. The victim was also assaulted and raped by him.

Harrier was placed on the sex offenders’ register.