Ex-soldier jailed for raping babysitter in front of son

A former soldier has been jailed for six years for raping a 15-year-old babysitter in front of his young son more than 20 years ago.

A court heard how William Whyte, 48, had repeatedly asked the girl for sex.

Judge Lord Braid said the teenager had made it clear to Whyte that she did not want to have sex with him.

He told Whyte: "She was crying and repeatedly said 'no' but nonetheless you went ahead and had sex with her without her consent."

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Braid said he accepted "that the effect of being raped in front of your son, which was her evidence, was traumatic in the extreme".

The judge said the age of the victim was an aggravating factor in the crime.

Whyte, who formerly served with the Royal Scots, was 23 when he carried out the rape at a house in Polbeth, West Lothian.

He had denied assaulting and raping the victim between 1 March and 31 May in 1996.

The woman, now 40, told the trial she was sobbing and crying throughout the ordeal and ran out of Whyte's home when it ended.

Whyte, formerly of Addiewell in West Lothian, had previously told the underage girl how beautiful she was when he made flattering comments towards her.

She told his trial that she had "recovered memories" of the abuse after experiencing intense flashbacks.

Another woman also gave evidence that she suffered sexual abuse from Whyte, although he did not face a charge in relation to that.

Defence solicitor advocate Ewen Roy said Whyte continued to maintain his innocence.

He said a background report prepared on him said he had "a difficult and traumatic childhood" followed by an adult life blighted by mental health problems.

Mr Roy said he had a long history of anxiety and depression and went through a "disturbing and distressing" posting in Northern Ireland as a teenage soldier.

He said Whyte, who followed the hearing via a video link from prison, had no criminal convictions at the time of the attack. He was later jailed for a drugs offence at the High Court.

Whyte was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.