A brave Army veteran has spoken of the horrific physical and sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of evil Glenrothes rapist Stephen Graham.
The woman, whose name is Carin, has waived her anonymity to speak out ahead of the brute’s sentencing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old first met Graham at high school before bumping into him years later after she returned from military service.
He kept his evil streak hidden and she fell for his charms before he began a terrifying campaign of abuse.
Carin, who did not want to reveal her surname, said: “I was in the Army for seven years as a medic on the frontline, saving lives in Afghanistan, twice.
“I’ve been through a lot and I’ve seen a lot but my mind was trained to deal with that.
“After this happened, I was broken. I was literally stripped to the bone. I had nothing left.
“If someone handed me a pill to end it all, I would have. I’ve been through hell but I survived.”
She said the couple’s first six weeks together were “perfect”.
“In my head, it was the best relationship I’d ever been in,” continued Carin.
“I thought I had found the one. We laughed all the time and we didn’t argue even once.
“But when I got my own flat, it started going downhill. He was so jealous and didn’t want me to have any male friends, even on social media.
“I wanted to ease his worries so I would always have my phone out and open so he could see what I was doing.
“Looking back now, I can see how good he was manipulating me and reeling me in. It got to the point that he actually made me feel that I needed him.
“It got to the point that I was trying to argue his defence with my family and friends. Obviously looking back now, I feel like such an idiot.”
Carin eventually plucked up the courage to tell him she could not be in his life any more and walked away.
She said: “When this all happened, I think I punished myself because I couldn’t help but think what had I done wrong that was making him act this way.
“Now I know more about narcissism and the way they work, I’ve learnt that it wasn’t my fault.
“I’ve never once in my whole entire life ever been involved with a guy like him.
“I just didn’t think it could happen to me. But it did.
“If I could change anything in this whole situation, I would train myself to be more aware and understanding of these types of people before getting involved.
“I was just so oblivious to it, I didn’t see it coming.”
Horrific ordeal
Carin told how Graham, 29, first turned violent in September last year when he grabbed her by the throat and threw her across the living room as she was getting ready for college.
She eventually managed to escape before calling the police who arrested him.
Despite being remanded in custody, his hold over his victim was still strong and Carin went to visit him in prison where he begged her for forgiveness.
She said: “He said he’d never hurt me again and he’d make it up to me. He was crying like a baby.
“I just kept remembering all the little love and affection he had shown me before.
“I still loved him which sounds daft now.”
Graham’s abuse continued from behind bars and Carin was bombarded with abusive voicemails and phone calls.
When he was released in December, the couple reunited briefly before Graham’s violence streak re-emerged just days later and they split.
In February, Carin had enjoyed a night out with friends before she was attacked outside her Markinch flat and woke up, dazed and confused on the couch in Graham’s living room.
He then subjected her to a horrendous nine-hour ordeal where he kept her trapped, threatened her with a knife and beat her repeatedly before raping her.
She said: “I knew if he caught me trying to escape, he’d kill me. I could hear my heart beating. I don’t even remember shutting the door, I think I was in shock.”
Carin eventually managed to make it to her gran’s house before an ambulance and the police were called.
Graham was found guilty of assaulting and raping Carin following a trial at Livingston High Court and is due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
He was also convicted of two counts of threatening and abusive behaviour towards police officers at his flat and at Levenmouth police station in September last year.
His name was added to the sex offenders register and details of his conviction were passed to Scottish ministers under protection of vulnerable groups legislation.
