Serial rapist sentenced to 15 years jail for decade-long assault spree

SERIAL RAPIST SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS JAIL FOR DECADE-LONG ASSAULT SPREE

A serial sex attacker convicted of raping four women has been jailed for 15 years.

Raymond Donnelly preyed on his terrified victims during a reign of terror spanning more than a decade.

The 32-year-old even raped one of the women shortly after she had given birth.

Donnelly yesterday returned to the dock after being found guilty following a harrowing trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

He was also convicted of separate assaults on the women – three of whom were pregnant at the time.

Judge Alastair Stewart QC told Donnelly the evidence he had heard "painted a very disturbing picture" and added: "You sought to control and dominate (the women) and do what you wanted irrespective of their wishes." The judge also ordered that Donnelly be supervised for eight years after his release.

The incidents took place between 1997 and 2010 in Ayrshire.

The women were subjected to "systematic violence" at the hands of Donnelly.

Donnelly subjected the women to regular beatings.

One of them spoke of her "absolute fear and panic".

The court heard he punched one in the face and, as she went to get ice for her injuries, he followed her, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her.

His lawyer Maurice Smyth told the court that Donnelly did not suffer any mental illness, but that he had come from a "disastrous background".