Daughter heard her mother being raped

● Man jailed for eight years ● Also admitted hitting children

A man who pretended to be “the nicest guy ever” before raping a woman he followed after a night out has been jailed for eight years.

John Kennedy,42, forced himself on the woman as her daughter heard her weeping mother pleading with him to stop and telling him: “I’m in agony.”

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Kennedy had earlier been socialising with the female – who cannot be named for legal reasons – at a pub in Armadale, West Lothian.

But he attacked her at her home and grabbed her by the hair and pinned her against a wall.

Kennedy then punched his victim so hard she fell into a hall cupboard and subjected her to a horrifying sexual assault in December 2008.

The court heard how following the assault, the victim looked in a mirror and could see her entire face was swollen.

Kennedy, of Bathgate, West Lothian, also admitted repeatedly assaulting a young girl over an 11-year period between 2000 and 2011.

She was aged four to 15-years-old during the time of the physical abuse.

He also attacked a threeyears-old boy, with the child being slapped, pushed, struck and spat on. Both victims cannot also be identified for legal reasons.

Yesterday, judge Lord Pentland branded Kennedy a “violent bully” and told him that he had no other option but to send him to prison.

Ordering Kennedy to be supervised by the authorities for three years following his release from custody, Lord Pentland said: “You are a violent bully who terrorised your victims. It is very likely that there will be lasting effects on each of them.

“In my opinion, you lack genuine empathy for any of your victims.

“I have came to the view that in order to maintain public safety – and in particular the safety of women – I require to impose a prison sentence in your case.”

Unemployed Kennedy, of Leyland Road, Bathgate, West Lothian, admitted assaulting and raping the woman in December 2008, when he appeared in court last month.

Kennedy also admitted assaulting a girl aged from the age of four who was pinned down, slapped, pushed and punched and her hair pulled during assaults at addresses in West Lothian and East Renfrewshire.he further pled guilty to attacking a boy from the age of three with the child being slapped, pushed, struck and spat on.