Man admits raping 83-year-old woman in her Glenrothes home

A man has admitted raping an elderly disabled widow after breaking into her Fife home armed with a garden tool.

Kyle McKenzie, 23, continued to attack the woman on 25 June 2020 despite the 84-year-old pleading: "You are going to kill me."

McKenzie wore a balaclava and rubber gloves when he broke into the house in Glenrothes.

He fled after the woman managed to access her community alarm to summon help.

McKenzie also pleaded guilty to breaking into the home of another elderly woman in the Fife town on the same night and stealing a decanter from her house.

The judge Lord Boyd told him at the High Court in Edinburgh he was going to make a risk assessment before deciding whether to impose an Order for Lifelong Restriction (OLR).

Under an OLR the court fixes a minimum term the offender must serve in prison, but any future release is decided by parole authorities, with monitoring continuing.

The indeterminate sentence is reserved for the most serious sexual and violent cases, short of murder.

The judge told McKenzie: "The level of violence which you used in this case was really quite extreme."

Bedroom window

Lord Boyd pointed out the victim was an elderly, disabled woman and that there was "a degree of preparation" in the offence with the wearing of a mask and gloves and arming himself with a weapon.

The judge said he acknowledged McKenzie was a first offender but added: "You express guilt and shame, but you are really unable to provide an explanation."

The court heard the woman had gone to bed after leaving a bedroom window open by an inch but woke up at 05:00 as the covers were being pulled from her.

Advocate depute Graeme Jessop said: "She observed a male wearing all black clothing and a balaclava brandishing a garden tool. He stated: 'Don't scream, don't resist.'"

The pensioner began to struggle with her attacker and was repeatedly punched in the head.

During the assault McKenzie put his hands on her chest which restricted her breathing.

The prosecutor said during the assault the woman remembered her community alarm and managed to reach and activate it.

An alarm team employee contacted her and she said: "Please send someone as quickly as you can. I've just been raped. Somebody's broken into the house, please hurry, please."

McKenzie escaped through the bedroom window after the alarm was triggered. He was arrested the following month.