Rapist targeted 13-year-old girls at parties in Dundee

Image source, Vic Rodrick

Image caption, Jordan Pearson, now 20, continued to deny responsibility for the offences

A teenage rapist who arrived late at house parties to target young girls who had been drinking has been locked up for five years.

Jordan Pearson, who was 17 at the time, was found guilty of raping two 13-year-old girls in Dundee in 2019.

He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl, and having unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl.

Judge Alison Stirling said custody was the "only appropriate disposal."

She said the reasons for the sentence included punishment, protection of the public and rehabilitation in custody.

The judge told him: "Your game plan was to arrive late at parties and see who was young and drunk."

She said there was little interaction with the young girls before they were taken into a bedroom for sex.

The High Court in Edinburgh was told that Pearson, now 20, continued to deny responsibility for the offences.

Defence counsel John Brannigan asked for the imposition of a community-based sentence as a direct alternative to detention.

But the judge sentenced him to five years detention and said he would be supervised for three years following his release.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.