A man who plied a teenage schoolgirl with fruit schnapps before raping her near a Stirling kids’ play park was last week jailed.
Father-of-one Paul Cunningham was sentenced at the High Court in Livingston to eight years imprisonment last Thursday.
A jury had found the 35-year-old guilty by unanimous verdict at the High Court in Stirling last month following a five-day trial.
The court had heard that Cunningham had been asked to buy drink on behalf of the girl and some of her friends in Stirling city centre but then went with them to the park.
He also bought a bottle of Cactus Jack’s schnapps and gave some to his victim.
The girl told investigators she felt uncomfortable about Cunningham remaining with them because he was an adult, and then as they sat near a climbing frame he started wiping the grass off their thighs.
She said: “He started saying ‘you’re fit’ and everything, ‘you’re so fit’. It made me really uncomfortable.”
The girl said she told Cunningham her age but he said he “didn’t care”.
She said: “He kissed me and put his tongue in my mouth, and telt me not to tell anyone. He took me round a corner and pulled my leggings down, and as I was standing there was a wall behind me.”
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She said Cunningham then raped her.
She went back to her friends and burst into tears, later telling a relative.
Cunningham, who had given the girl his name, was later arrested.
The incident occurred in September 2020.
Cunningham, of Clackmannan, who told the girl he was originally from Glasgow, denied rape and claimed the girl had consented. He said he believed she was 17.
He was found guilty of raping the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after supplying her with alcohol and while she was intoxicated and incapable of giving or withholding consent.
In addition to the jail term, he was placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.
Following sentence, Detective Sergeant Craig Faulds of Forth Valley’s Public Protection Unit said: “Paul Cunningham has been found guilty of a horrific offence against a young girl and he will now be held accountable for his actions.
“I wish to pay tribute to the victim’s courage and resolve and for her incredible bravery in talking about her experience at the hands of this man. I hope that hearing Cunningham has been jailed for eight years will provide her some comfort that he can no longer inflict this pain on any other girls or women.
“Police Scotland will always investigate such kinds of serious offences as they are reported to us. We will tirelessly pursue perpetrators to disrupt their activities while also remaining committed to protecting and supporting victims, as well as those at risk of becoming victims in our communities. I would encourage anyone who has suffered this type of despicable abuse to report it to Police Scotland.”
