'Depraved' Edinburgh sex offender posed online as a teenager before raping terrified schoolgirl

A child sex offender who posed as a teenage boy on the internet before attacking and raping a 14-year-old girl has been jailed for six years and three months and branded ‘depraved’ by a senior police officer.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Craig Dunsmore persuaded the teenager to travel to meet him in Edinburgh before carrying out the sex attack on her at his home in the city's Broomhouse area.

Dunsmore was later to have found indecent images of children and extreme pornography on a phone and after obtaining other phones contacted a 13-year-old girl.

Behind bars: Craig Dunsmore

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: "It is a matter of concern that having been arrested twice you continued to pursue your sexual interest in children."

The court heard that he had met the rape victim through the internet and told her that he was aged 15 and got her to travel to Edinburgh from her home town. During the rape attack on January 19 in 2019 he pushed her onto a bed and held her down.

Judge Alison Stirling told him: "She froze thinking she was going to be raped, which is what happened."

Dunsmore, 27, formerly of Broomhouse Medway, had denied raping the girl during an earlier trial but was found guilty of the offence. He was also convicted of engaging in sexual activity with the underage girl, including requesting that she take naked photos of herself and send them to him.

He was also convicted of possessing and distributing indecent pictures of children and possessing extreme pornography of explicit and realistic images of rape and non-consensual sex between adults and bestiality.

The cleaner was further convicted of requesting that a 13-year-old girl send him images of her buttocks during communications with her in September 2019, when he had been freed under two bail orders at Edinburgh Sheriff court. Dunsmore had again said he was 15-years-old.

The judge told him during a sentencing hearing that Dunsmore followed via a live link to prison: "Custody is the only appropriate disposal having regard to the serious nature of your offending."

READ MORE: Balerno child rape and sexual assault victims speak of lasting trauma which has ‘ruined’ parts of their lives after abuser is jailed for 5 years

Defence solicitor advocate John Campbell said Dunsmore realised he would be jailed and had begun to recognise the harm he had caused.

He said: "Clearly there is much work to do."

Mr Campbell said that Dunsmore was a first offender who hoped to resume employment on his release from jail.

He added: "There is clearly a work ethic there."

READ MORE: Worship leader found guilty at High Court in Edinburgh of raping teenage churchgoer after responding to cry for help

Dunsmore was placed on the Sex Offenders' Register indefinitely.

Following the case, Detective Inspector George Calder of the Edinburgh City Divisional Rape Investigation Unit said: "Craig Dunsmore is a dangerous individual whose actions were motivated purely to satisfy his own depraved sexual gratification.

"The bravery of the females involved in initially coming forward then subsequently throughout the police investigation and legal proceedings is to be commended and will now mean he faces the consequences of his behaviour.

“We are committed to bringing all perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice and I would urge anyone who wishes to report sexual crime, either direct to police or through a third sector agency, regardless of when it happened."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.