Men jailed for grooming and raping vulnerable schoolgirl in Glasgow

Ailands Aleksanders, Aivars Hauberts and Ludvigs Rudevics were found guilty of raping the schoolgirl

Four men have been jailed for sexually abusing and grooming a 15-year-old schoolgirl.

Ailands Aleksanders, 22, Ludvigs Rudevics, 35, and Aivars Hauberts, 21, were last month found guilty of raping her.

A fourth man, Hardis Gindra, 27, was convicted of having under-age sex.

The men bought the 15-year-old gifts, including underwear, and gave her drugs and alcohol. Their conviction follows a four-year police investigation.

Rudevics was handed a six-year jail term and Hauberts and Aleksanders were each sentenced to four years.

Co-accused Gindra was jailed for a year.

At the High Court in Glasgow judge Lord Armstrong told the men: "You have each been convicted of the sexually exploiting and abuse of a vulnerable teenage girl who at the relevant time was only 15 years of age when this took place in June and July 2015.

"Aivarts Hauberts, Aillnads Aleksanders and Ludvigs Rudevics you stand convicted of raping this young girl. That is a grave crime from which all young girls and women should be protected."

All four accused, who are from Latvia, were placed on the sex offenders' register.

Det Insp Chris Nisbet of Police Scotland praised the "patience and courage" of the victim

During the trial the victim sobbed as she told how she was raped by Hauberts and Alekanders at a birthday party in Burnfield Road, Glasgow, on 3 June 2015.

The woman, who is now 19 and lives in Glasgow, told the court she was intoxicated and was falling in and out of sleep.

The teenager also recalled how Rudevics raped her at a flat in Ardencraig Road, Glasgow, on 14 July 2015 after offering her a place to stay for the night.

The court also heard Gindra had under-age sex with her at an unknown location on 13 June 2015.

Prosecutor Bernard Ablett said: "They groomed and sexually exploited her and used her as nothing other that a sex object."

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was introduced to the men by a school friend.

She said initially the men were very polite, but added: "They started speaking sexually to me. Talking about sex and my body and stuff like that,"

The victim said she went with men she knew as Aivars and Ailands and other men to a ground floor flat in Glasgow.

After drinking alcohol she felt ill and went to a bedroom to lie down.

She recalled: "I remember seeing some people coming in. There were three or four people there.

"My clothes started to come off and I was too drunk to do anything. I remember people starting to have sex with me."

'Despicable crime'

The witness was asked why she socialised with these men and said: "It was the only attention I was getting in my life.

"They were nice to me and they were making me feel good."

Mr Ablett said: "What did you like about them?"

She replied: "The compliments, the attention. I could get drugs and alcohol whenever I wanted. "

Det Insp Chris Nibet praised the "patience and courage" of the victim.

He added: "People who are involved in the sexual exploitation of children prey on vulnerabilities and use a number of tactics to groom their victim.

"It's a despicable crime."

An NSPCC Scotland spokeswoman said: "These men preyed on a teenage girl's vulnerability, deceiving her into believing that they cared, purely to exploit her for their sexual gratification.

"It will have taken immense courage for her to speak out and give evidence about the sexual abuse and trauma these men inflicted upon her, and it is crucial she receives all the support she needs to recover."