Jail term ends rapist’s 30-year reign of terror

Offender subjected his female victims to series of violent and sexual assaults

A rapist who spent almost three decades subjecting women to a series of violent and serious sexual assaults has been jailed for life.

Kenneth Watt, 46, was found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh earlier this year of a number of offences of brutalising females over a 27-year period.

The court heard how he repeatedly raped the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on various occasions between February 1988 and November 1994 at locations in his home town.

Watt, who has several previous convictions for dishonesty, then started preying on a girl aged four, subjecting her to violent physical and sexual assaults between February 1990 and February 1997.

Between June 2004 and June 2007, Watt also repeatedly assaulted another woman, who also cannot be named for legal reasons. He also raped her in late 2005.

Watt then repeatedly battered another woman between July 2013 and December 2015.

Police then launched an investigation into Watt’s activities and collected enough evidence to arrest him.

Watt then assaulted DC Lesley Anne Couper at Kirkcaldy police office in June 2016 before refusing to provide her colleagues with his fingerprints and a DNA sample.

Yesterday judge Lord Brailsford imposed an order for lifelong restriction on Watt.

An OLR means that an offender is only released back into the community once the parole board is satisfied they no longer pose a risk to the wider community.

In April 2017, jurors convicted Watt of rape, sexual assault and physical assault charges.

He was also convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by refusing to comply with police requests to provide them with his fingerprints and DNA.

Watt interrupted proceedings by shouting from the dock.

The evidence was heard in Watt’s absence.

Following conviction, Lord Brailsford told jurors that they had heard evidence in what was a “highly unusual” trial.

Deferring sentence for the court to obtain reports into Watt’s character, Lord Brailsford added: “I have never conducted a case in 11 years on the bench in which an accused person has been absent from proceedings.”

Watt targeted all his victims at various addresses in Kirkcaldy.

One of Watt’s victims told the court of how Watt repeatedly targeted her in the town.

She said she was physically and sexually abused by Watt between June 2004 and June 2007.

Lord Brailsford said Watt would have to serve a minimum of four years before he would become eligible for parole.

Kenneth Watt preyed on a four-year-old girl.