Predator jailed for raping schoolgirl earlier than brother murdered her
A person who raped a teenager 5 months earlier than she was murdered by her brother has been jailed for 10 and a half years.
Jamie Starrs, 20, assaulted Amber Gibson and raped her whereas she was both asleep or unconscious at a property in Bothwell in June 2021.
Months later, in November 2021, Amber, 16, was sexually assaulted and murdered by her brother Connor Gibson, convicted final month following a trial on the High Court in Glasgow.
Starrs was discovered responsible of raping {the teenager} following a separate trial on the High Court in Lanark in July.
He was additionally convicted of raping one other teenage woman in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, in May 2021.
Judge Thomas Welsh KC handed Starrs an prolonged sentence comprising 10 and a half years in custody and two years of supervision upon launch on the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
Sentencing Starrs, who appeared by way of video hyperlink from custody, the decide stated: “You have been convicted of appalling crimes against two innocent teenage girls and you have been assessed as being of very high risk of sexual violence on release.
“I’m required to consider your age and tough upbringing – nevertheless, the crimes stay critical and grave, and I’ll impose an prolonged sentence.”
He said that he would have ordered 11 years to be served in custody but reduced this to 10 and a half years behind bars to take into account the time that Starrs has spent on remand.
The 20-year-old was also found guilty of a breach of bail conditions, and of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
He has been placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Giving a plea in mitigation, Michael Meehan KC, representing Starrs, highlighted that as he is under 25 the sentence must take into account sentencing guidelines which reflect that a younger person will have a lower level of maturity than an older person.
He said a report identified that Starrs shows “cognitive and emotional immaturity”.
The lawyer had also urged the judge to consider his client’s adverse childhood experiences when sentencing.
He told the court that Starrs was removed from parental care at the age of three and developed addiction issues from the age of nine.
Mr Meehan said: “He has a traumatic background from a younger age which maybe offers a point of clarification.”
The sentencing comes a fortnight after Connor Gibson, 20, was convicted of fatally attacking Amber in woodland in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, in November 2021.
The 20-year-old removed her clothes, sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her, inflicted blunt force trauma to her head and body, and strangling her.
Amber was reported missing on the evening of Friday, November 26 and her body was discovered in Cadzow Glen at about 10.10am on November 28.
Stephen Corrigan, 45, was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and breach of the peace by intimately touching and concealing Amber’s body after discovering it, instead of contacting the emergency services.
Gibson will be sentenced on September 4 for a crime Judge Lord Mulholland described as “wicked”.
Corrigan may even be sentenced subsequent month.