Glasgow man who raped two young girls jailed
52 year old John Myers formerly from the Tollcross area locked up for 13 years for catalogue of abuse
A rapist from Glasgow who preyed on two young girls has been jailed for 13 years after he was assessed as posing "an imminent risk" of further sex offending against children.
John Myers subjected one victim to years of abuse before raping her as a teenager and raped a second child when she was aged between 11 and 13.
A judge was told that the 52 year old suffers from the condition of sleep apnea and relies on a machine while in prison to "effectively keep him alive".
Myers, formerly from the Tollcross area, was earlier convicted of two charges of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and indecent behaviour committed at addresses in his home city between 2002 and 2014 after denying the offences.
His catalogue of abuse was only uncovered after one victim was asked by a friend to share her "darkest secret".
She revealed she had been a target for Myers' sex offending and the friend shared the secret with one of her relatives who insisted on taking the victim to report the abuse to the police.
Lord Pentland told Myers at the High Court in Edinburgh: "The jury convicted you after trial of a series of extremely serious offences."
The judge told him that the abuse of one of the victims, which began when she was aged five and culminated in rape, was "sustained and calculated".
Lord Pentland said: "The effect on your victims has been serious and lasting. I note you have evinced no remorse and not the slightest concern for your victims."
The judge told him: "The sexual abuse of children is repugnant." He added that part of the court's responsibility was to reflect society's abhorrence of such offending.
The judge said a background report prepared on Myers had assessed him "as presenting an imminent risk of future sexual offending against children".
He also ordered that Myers should be kept under supervision for a further three years and told him he would be put on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.
Defence counsel Brian McConnachie QC said Myers had previously acted as a carer for his wife.
He said that Myers had attended a special needs school and added: "From my discussions with him and my involvement with him he is clearly of limited intelligence."
The defence counsel said that Myers had suffered health problems and was in remission after receiving treatment for prostate cancer.
He said he suffered from asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea for which he relied on a machine while in prison to "effectively keep him alive".
Mr McConnachie said that Myers was well aware that following the jury's verdicts in his case there was no option but to impose "a substantial custodial sentence".