Marc McKillop

Marc McKillop, a 27-year-old painter from Rothes in Moray, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a series of brutal attacks on six young women in Moray and Aberdeen. The High Court in Edinburgh heard how McKillop terrorised his victims over a seven-year period, subjecting them to extreme violence and sexual offences that left them profoundly depressed and, in some cases, suicidal.

McKillop was convicted of 21 charges, including attempted murder, rape, indecent assault, assault to permanent disfigurement, and assault to the danger of life. He was cleared of one further rape charge on a not proven verdict. The attacks often involved grabbing the women by the neck, with one particularly harrowing incident where he attempted to murder a victim by seizing her by the hair and dragging her down stairs. In another assault, he raped one woman and attacked another while she was breastfeeding a baby. He also put a belt around a woman's neck and choked her until she believed she was going to die, thrust his fingers into one victim's eyes, placed a pillow over another's head, and scarred a victim by striking her in the chest with a car key.

• Attempted murder: Dragging a victim down stairs by the hair.
• Rape: Sexual assault on one of the young women.
• Indecent assault: Multiple instances of non-consensual sexual contact.
• Assault to permanent disfigurement: Causing lasting harm through violent strikes.
• Assault to the danger of life: Choking and other life-threatening actions.

Judge Lady Scott described McKillop's actions as subjecting his victims to 'a storm of violence'. During the trial, McKillop claimed all his victims were liars, but the jury rejected his defence. In mitigation, his lawyer highlighted that McKillop had 'a good work ethic', though this did little to sway the court.

Following his sentence, McKillop will be supervised for three years upon release and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely. The case was reported by the Daily Record on 30 November 2013, highlighting the severity of sex crimes in Scotland and the impact on victims in the Moray and Aberdeen areas.