Charles Donnelly 70

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A convicted sex offender has been jailed for nine years for a catalogue of abuse he committed more than three decades ago.

Charles Donnelly repeatedly raped a younger woman and subjected a boy and girl to sex crimes in Fife throughout a 16-year period.

Judge Lady Carmichael told the 70-year-old at the High Court in Edinburgh that he had caused "lasting harm" to his victims.

Donnelly was previously jailed for seven years in 2015 for sex offences and after his release from that jail term was recalled to prison for breaching his licence by being in the company of a child.

He was due to stand trial at the High Court earlier this year facing a series of further charges when he pled guilty to four offences, in what police called a "complex and disturbing case."

The first involved the repeated rape of a younger woman between January 1977 and September 1981 at addresses in a Fife village.

The victim said Donnelly was "helping himself to sex" despite her telling him "no".

She made it clear to him that she did not want sex but Donnelly ignored her and repeatedly assaulted and raped her, the court heard.

His second victim was a young boy who Donnelly spanked before committing a serious indecent assault at a house in Dunfermline on an occasion between September 1976 and September 1979.

His third victim was a girl who was subjected to prolonged abuse from the age of five by Donnelly at addresses in a nearby village beginning in 1983.

The sex offender told his young victim not to tell anyone as she would get into trouble if she did.

Donnelly molested the child and carried out sex acts on himself in her presence. He admitted two offences of indecent behaviour towards the girl, committed between 1983 and 1992.

'Immense courage'

Det Con Karen Nairn, of the non recent child abuse investigations team, said the victims had shown "immense courage" in reporting the crimes.

She added: "It is right that Donnelly now has to face the consequences of his disgraceful actions.

"My thoughts remain with the victims and their families. This conviction is a direct result of them coming forward."

Defence counsel Michael Anderson KC said Donnelly, who was held in prison awaiting his trial, had been through "significant difficulties of his own throughout his life".

He said Donnelly's previous experience of custody following his sentencing in 2015 had proved difficult for him.

He added that Donnelly had not offended since 1994.

Lady Carmichael ordered that he should be monitored in the community for a further five-year period following his jail term.

During that time, he will be under licence and can be returned to prison if he breaches its conditions.

Donnelly was told by a video link to prison that he will be on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following his sentencing today.