The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Jail for man who raped woman twice
A sexual predator who plied his frightened victim with alcohol and drugs before raping her twice has been jailed.
Neil Kennedy targeted the woman at his home in Keith after she agreed to share his bed because she “trusted him”.
Kennedy, 41, had denied a charge he attacked the woman twice in one day but he was found guilty by a jury following a trial at the High Court in Inverness.
He returned to the dock for sentencing yesterday and was jailed for six years and six months.
The jury had previously heard how Kennedy’s victim, who was in her early 20s, had gone to visit her attacker who had given her crack cocaine and whisky miniatures before the attacks.
The woman said the attacks left her feeling “scared” and “sore” and it was not until two days later when Kennedy was sleeping that she left the flat.
Once outside, she contacted her mother telling her what had happened, saying she had been “abused all weekend”.
In a text, she wrote: “Mum, I’m scared and I’m in agony” and reported the rapes to the police that same day.
Kennedy was arrested and at interview claimed to have spent the weekend elsewhere, although it was finally conceded at trial that he was, in fact, at home.
He denied sexual contact with his victim but DNA testing found incriminating evidence, the trial heard.
Kennedy gave no evidence in his own defence during the trial.
As well as the jail term, Kennedy was put on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.
He was also handed a non-harassment order, preventing him from contacting his victim.