A former RAF serviceman from Kingussie, Dean Hargreaves, has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for a series of sexual offences committed against teenage girls. The crimes, which took place when Hargreaves was aged between 17 and 20, involved locations in the Highland and Islands region of Scotland as well as East Yorkshire in England. He was convicted at the High Court in Inverness following a week-long trial before Lord Renucci, where a jury heard testimony from six women, five of whom were the victims of the offences for which he was found guilty.
Hargreaves denied all charges initially but was convicted of seven counts, including sexual assault and sexual coercion. He was cleared of two counts of rape and one of attempted rape. The offences centred around Hargreaves using social media to connect with underage girls, initiating flirtatious or suggestive conversations, and pressuring them to send nude images. In one case, a victim who was under 16 described how Hargreaves persistently asked for pictures of her in less clothing despite her refusals. 'Originally, I said no, I didn’t want to. He was just so persistent and kept asking that I eventually gave in. I sent him a picture of me in my bra,' she told the court, as reported in The Press and Journal.
- The victim further recounted how Hargreaves took screenshots of the images and threatened to share them with her family and others if she did not comply with his demands, including sending more explicit photos and meeting him in person.
- During these meetings, which occurred in laybys or forestry roads, Hargreaves coerced her into sexual activity, kissing and touching her intimately, leaving her feeling 'sore'. He promised to delete the images if she obliged but failed to do so.
Another victim, who was just 13 at the time, testified that the then 20-year-old Hargreaves messaged her requesting 'nude images'. 'Can you send me nudes?' he asked, and despite her knowledge that it was wrong, she felt pressured into sending them. She received explicit images from him in return, described as 'd*** pics'. The pair met up, with Hargreaves driving her to secluded areas where he kissed and touched her without consent. 'I would say stop, and he would kind of brush it off,' she said.
Other victims described similar patterns: Hargreaves being 'flirty' or 'suggestive' online before escalating to demands for sexual images. In one instance, after a victim threatened to report him upon learning her image had been shared, Hargreaves pleaded, 'Sorry, really, please can we make a deal, or something? You could f*** up my whole, entire life. You will f*** up my future in the RAF if you do this.' This highlighted his concern for his military career at the time.
During a 2018 police interview, Hargreaves claimed he believed one victim was 16 and expressed regret, stating, 'If I had known she was 15 I would never have asked her for a picture. I should have handled things differently and made different choices.' He denied any attraction to young females. Giving evidence in his defence, the now 28-year-old HGV driver insisted he had done nothing wrong and denied specific allegations, including threats and sexual activity. He admitted to a 'stupid decision' in copying and sharing one image but claimed he had not requested it.
The jury deliberated for less than a day before convicting him. Sentencing occurred at the High Court in Stirling, where Lord Renucci imposed the four-and-a-half-year custodial sentence, backdated to 9 March 2026. Hargreaves, of Manse Road, Kingussie, was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and subjected to indefinite non-harassment orders barring contact with four of the victims. The case was prosecuted by advocate depute John Keeman, with evidence drawn from witness testimonies and police interviews.