Carluke man jailed for raping a woman and sexually assaulting two teenagers

A judge jailed a man who raped a woman and sexually abused two teenage girls for 10 years and told him his behaviour was 'despicable and depraved.'

James Heard, 40, was convicted of committing the offences between July 20, 2007, and October 2015, at addresses in Carluke, Lanarkshire.

However, he continues to claim he is innocent.

His rape victim, who was in a relationship with Heard, said that when she refused to have consensual sex with him, he would rape her.

The High Court in Glasgow was told that Heard raped her on a number of occasions over a six-year-period.

The teenage girls were aged 14 and 13 when Heard began to sexually abuse them.

He was also found guilty of assaulting on of his young abuse victims when she was 15 by grabbing her by the throat and holding her against a wall in September 2015.

Jailing Heard judge Lady Rae said: 'You were convicted of a series of sexual crimes and an offence of violence.

'You obtained sexual gratification by raping this woman if she ever withdrew consent to sexual intercourse. Your behaviour was despicable and depraved. The adverse effects on victims of such conduct is immeasurable and can affect them for the rest of their lives.

'It is concerning you do not accept any responsibility for what you did to your victims.”

Heard was ordered to be monitored in the community for two years after his release from prison and was placed on the sex offenders' register