A convicted stalker from Fife who preyed on an intoxicated woman he “barely knew” has been jailed for rape.
Cameron Whitley, 29, sexually assaulted the female at a house in Leven in September 2019.
He had been on a night out and got in a taxi with the woman in the hours leading up to the attack.
He denied any wrongdoing but a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh found Whitley, of Sycamore Avenue, Methil, guilty of rape.
Following conviction, prosecutor Alan Cameron revealed Whitley had a previous conviction for stalking.
Judge Lord Weir remanded him in custody and called for a background report.
Stalking case
In February 2022, Whitley was admonished by a sheriff at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court after bombarding his ex-partner with 500 text messages in just 12 days, between October 9 and 21 2021.
He blamed a speech-to-text function on his phone.
He also called the woman 111 times, leaving multiple voicemails.
He pled guilty to a charge of engaging in a course of conduct that caused the woman alarm at an address in Buckhaven between October 9 and 21.
Defence solicitor Martin Maguire said due to his dyslexia, Whitley used a voice-to-text app to write his text messages but this caused the texts to be sent a paragraph at a time, making them more excessive than they would otherwise have seemed.
Preyed on rape victim
In his closing speech to jurors in the rape case, prosecutor Alan Cameron said the circumstances surrounding the assault showed Whitley preyed on the female.
“They hadn’t met until they had got into a taxi.
“The accused’s intention was to have sex with a woman who he barely knew and didn’t have any interaction with.
“I say his behaviour is conclusive of rape and I say to you to find him guilty.”
Whitley will be sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen on October 3 2023.
There is much more local court content at our dedicated page here, or join our Courts Facebook page.
