Judge hits out after rapist was labelled ‘low-risk’

SOCIAL workers have been criticised for claiming a man who repeatedly raped a woman and attempted to rape a four-year-old girl was at low risk of re-offending.

Judge Norman Ritchie, QC, spoke out as he jailed Stephen Craig, 52, for a total of 12 years.

Craig, of Stirling – who continues to protest his innocence – forced his five victims to give evidence about the crimes, which took place there and in Glasgow from the 1980s until 2011.

Sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow, Judge Ritchie told him: “You have been convicted of a truly appalling catalogue of crimes of violence and sexual abuse.”

Addressing the victims’ bravery in coming forward, he added: “The impact of your criminality on them has been profound and long-lasting.

“The risk assessment in the social work report states that you are at low risk of re-offending – I do not accept that.

“In fact, the accuracy of that assessment is contradicted by the suggestion in the report you need to be closely monitored after your release.”

Judge Ritchie added: “Any reasonable person would accept that you present a risk.”

The court heard during a trial that Craig repeatedly raped a woman over many years and physically abused her. The physical abuse included constant derogatory name-calling and placing a knife at her throat and threatening to kill her.

Police said Craig thought he had evaded justice becauise the crimes had been committed so long ago.

Detective Constable Laura Robb, who led the inquiry, said the sentence will give victims some closure, adding: “Craig will now be spending a considerable amount of time in prison, having failed to accept and admit the suffering he caused and forcing the five women to recount again what happened to them.”