Man jailed for rapes committed in Inverness in his teens

A man who raped two girls when he was a teenager has been jailed for six years at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Toby Deacon was 15 when he assaulted a 14-year-old girl at a house in Inverness in May 2016.

He was 19 when he attacked and raped a 16-year-old girl in the city in October 2020.

Deacon, formerly of Fortrose and now 22, had denied committing the crimes but was found guilty after a trial.

A judge at the High Court in Edinburgh heard that he continued to maintain his innocence.

Lord Clark said a background report prepared on Deacon found that he displayed no remorse and accused the victims of fabricating their evidence at his trial.

The judge said he took into account the guidelines for sentencing young people but because of the nature and seriousness of the offences only a custodial disposal was appropriate.

Lord Clark said that if the crimes had been committed by an adult offender he would have imposed a sentence of eight years and six months imprisonment.

But the judge said Deacon had "some degree of immaturity" at the time of the offences, particularly the first crime when he was aged 15.

Deacon, who was assessed as posing a medium risk of further sexual offending, was told that he would be placed on the sex offenders' register for an indefinite period.