Sex attacker faces jail for catalogue of abuse

Aviolent rapist from Fife who inflicted a catalogue of cruelty and abuse on women, children and animals is facing jail.

Garry Martin, 51, carried out a series of attacks and sex crimes during nearly three decades of violence.

Martin, of Massereene Road, Kirkcaldy, had denied a string of charges during a trial, but was found guilty of 19 offences of rape, indecent assault and conduct, assault and ill-treatment of dogs.

A judge told him: “The jury has today convicted you of a series of extremely serious offences of a violent and sexual nature.”

Lord Arthurson told Martin he should now expect to receive a “very significant” prison sentence.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard although Martin has a record, he has never previously served a jail sentence.

Defence solicitor advocate John Scott QC said: “Clearly a period of imprisonment is now inevitable.”

Martin’s offending began in 1995 when he repeatedly subjected a woman to attacks at an address in Kirkcaldy.

During the assaults, she was struck on the head, grabbed and dragged by the hair and body and stamped and spat on.

He also began assaulting a young girl in 1995, and in attacks over the next four years she was pinned against a wall, hit on the head and body, struck with a can and kicked.

During a further attack in 2000 in Thornton, he attacked another adult woman, who was grabbed by the hair and held down, repeatedly punched on the head and bitten.

The following year at addresses in Kirkcaldy and Windygates, he assaulted another woman, who was dragged by the hair, pushed to the ground and thrown over a sofa.

The victim was also punched and thrown down stairs.

Between May 2003 and July 2006, Martin also beat, kicked and ill-treated a dog in incidents in Kirkcaldy and Markinch.

Another woman was subjected to assaults by him between 2003 and New Year’s Day in 2006 in Kirkcaldy and Markinch, when she was punched and kicked and he tried to topple furniture on to her.

Martin also attacked a young boy at a house in Kirkcaldy between November 2004 and December 2005. He hit the child with his hand and threw food at him.

He went on to rape a woman and a girl at an address in Kirkcaldy.

In 2009, he carried out further sex attacks on another woman in his home town. Between January 2012 and January 2014, he committed assaults on a further woman at addresses in Kirkcaldy and punched her.

Martin was on bail during his trial, but the judge remanded him in custody following the verdicts and called for a background report and risk assessment to be prepared.

Martin was placed on the sex offenders register and will be sentenced next month.