A serial rapist who gagged one victim with a sock and tape has been jailed for 15 years.
Francis Sanderson, 29, also known as Campbell, carried out a string of rapes and sexual assaults over a 13-year period.
Another of his six female victims – who was just 14 – was attacked in a public park.
The crimes took place in Moray and the Highlands between 2008 and 2020.
Sanderson was convicted following a trial at the High Court in Inverness.
The jury heard he attempted to control the vulnerable women he befriended through threats and physical violence.
‘He moved from victim to victim’
Fraser Gibson, the national Procurator Fiscal for high court sexual offending, commended the victims – all now adults – for their bravery in coming forward.
He said: “Francis Sanderson was a serial abuser of women who damaged the lives of females with whom he came into contact.
“His offending covers most of his adult life. He moved from victim to victim.
“We are grateful for the courage of the women who came forward to report their experiences and bring this offending to an end.”
Sanderson, who also assaulted a police officer during his arrest, was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday. In addition to the jail term, he will also be supervised for five years upon his release.
Detective Inspector Gordon Patullo said: “Francis Sanderson has shown himself to be a controlling and dangerous individual who perpetrated a torrent of domestic abuse throughout his adult life.
“With this sentence Sanderson will face the consequence of his actions for years to come.”
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Sanderson’s prison sentence comes amid outrage over a rape case in Midlothian.
Earlier this week, Sean Hogg, 21, was sentenced to 270 hours of unpaid work for repeatedly attacking a 13-year-old girl at Dalkeith Country Park in 2018.
New guidelines for sentencing under-25s came into effect in Scotland in January 2022.
Judge Lord Lake said he took account of the fact Hogg was 17 at the time of his crimes and concluded that imprisonment would not contribute to his rehabilitation.
In response, Rape Crisis Scotland chief Sandy Brindley said she was “shocked” Hogg was spared jail.
She added: “Given the gravity of this crime and the fact it was tried at the High Court, this sentence appears to us to be worryingly lenient.”
