Sex attacker jailed for rapes on sleeping victims
- Published
Kenneth Bright had denied a string of charges at an earlier trial
A sex attacker who raped three vulnerable women while they slept has been jailed for seven years.
Kenneth Bright, 35, targeted three different victims, one a 14-year-old girl, while they were under the influence and incapable of consent.
The attacks occurred at different addresses in Johnstone and Paisley in Renfrewshire and in Glasgow.
"Each, for their own reasons, was a vulnerable individual in need of help," said a judge at Edinburgh's High Court.
Lord Tyre pointed out that although these were Bright's first convictions for sex crimes, he had a long history of previous offending.
He was assessed as posing a medium risk of sexual re-offending and placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely following his sentencing.
Bright's first victim was asleep and under the influence of drink or another substance when he sexually assaulted and raped her at a flat in the Bellahouston area of Glasgow on 25 February 2014.
Another attack occurred after she woke up.
'Lack of understanding'
A second woman was also sleeping and under the influence when Bright raped her at a flat in Johnstone in September 2019.
His third victim was a 14-year-old girl who was subjected to a sex act and rape after she fell asleep at a flat in Paisley in February 2020 while also under the influence.
Bright had denied a string of charges during an earlier trial but was found guilty of all three rape attacks.
Lord Tyre said he was concerned at the lack of understanding on Bright's part of the drastic effect his actions may have had on his victims.
The judge ordered that he should be under supervision and monitored for a further three-year period.
Police Scotland welcomed Bright's sentence, saying it was important that "perpetrators of this kind of crime know that their behaviour will not be tolerated".
Det Insp Allan Kelly added: "Bright preyed on women, including a 14-year-old girl, and escaped justice for a number of years, and I commend them for coming forward with such courage."
He said the force will "always investigate reports of a sexual nature, no matter when the offence happened, in a professional and sensitive manner."