A rapist from Fife who targeted three women during a near-quarter-century of offending has been given an extended sentence of 16 years.
James Cunningham, 56, will spend 12 years in prison and was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.
Cunningham, of Headwell Avenue, Dunfermline had denied the series of charges during a trial but was found guilty of three rapes, four assaults and two crimes of indecent conduct.
All the offences took place in Fife between 1985 and August 2008.
Sentencing him at the High Court in Livingston, Judge Susan Hall pointed out background reports state he is a “very significant risk of committing further violent and sexual offences against females of all ages and violent offending specifically where associated children are involved.”
‘Controlling and abusive behaviour’
The judge said: “You groomed young vulnerable females, placing yourself in a position of power over them and then committed numerous sexual and physical offences of the most serious kind.
“When they tried to escape from you, you used that power to force them back and continued to abuse them.
“When, in time, they were able to escape from your influence you would immediately replace them with another young victim who you would again subject to years of sexual and physical abuse.
“Your controlling and abusive behaviour wasn’t confined to your sexual relationships but extended to those over whom you had power.
“You made their lives a misery by controlling what they could and couldn’t do and imposing random rules of behaviour.
“If they did not behave according to your rules you would use physical and humiliating punishments.
At the High Court in Livingston, Judge Susan Craig imposed an extended sentence of 16 years on James Cunningham after the offender was convicted of multiple rapes, serious physical assaults and sexual assaults.https://t.co/Cp5PLdJhEM
— Judges Scotland (@JudgesScotland) March 2, 2023
“Their childhoods were blighted by your appalling treatment.
“That they have been able to make successful lives as adults is a testament to their resilience in spite of, not because of, what you did.”
‘Narcissistic predator’
Detective Constable Ross French from Police Scotland Fife Division said: “Cunningham is a narcissistic predator who has refused to admit his guilt and has shown no remorse for his despicable crimes.
“I want to commend the victims for the strength they have shown throughout this investigation and trial.
“My thoughts remain with them and I hope that this sentencing brings them some comfort and helps them move forward.
“We have detectives dedicated to investigating such offences and no matter how much time has passed, please report it.
“You can be assured that you will be fully supported by officers and our partner agencies.”
Assaulted for mince and tatties meal
One woman, who was repeatedly attacked and raped by him, told the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh Cunningham “would hit me, punch me, strangle me.”
“He pinned me up against a door. He threw things at me.”
The woman, now 57, said on one occasion she was sleeping in the early hours of the morning and the brute punched her on the side of the head and hauled her out of bed to make him a meal of mince and tatties.
The woman said she was repeatedly raped.
“He would just force himself on me. He would just take what he wanted.”
Further sex attacks
A second woman was assaulted and pinned to a sofa, slapped and punched, blindfolded and threatened.
He indecently assaulted and raped the woman, who was tied by her arms and legs to a bedframe.
The sex abuser also began preying on an underage teenage girl in 1996 and carried out indecent acts, before later raping her.
Another child victim was subjected to his unwanted attentions from the age of 13 and molested by him.
The victim, now 29, said as a child he had asked questions that made her feel “very uncomfortable”.
He also played a game with her called “nervous”, in which he would run his hand up the inside of her leg.
Preyed on children
Cunningham began assaulting a four-year-old boy in 1985.
He slapped and kicked him and forced him to sleep on a floor, where he had been sick.
A second boy was subjected to attacks from the age of four in 1993 and was slapped, punched and pushed.
His many crimes came to light after he was reported to police in 2019.
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