Teenager who raped 12-year-old girl is jailed

A teenager has been jailed for three years for raping a girl when she was just 12.

Myles Harris was 18 when he attacked the girl at Gala Policies park in Galashiels last year, the High Court in Edinburgh was told.

Judge Lord Scott said Harris could have expected to receive a longer term in prison had he not been so young at the time of the offence.

He said that if Harris been an adult at the time, he could have been sentenced to serve up to a year and a half longer in jail.

New guidelines for sentencing under-25s came into effect in Scotland in January 2022, which aim to reduce reoffending by focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment.

The court heard Harris, who has since turned 19, had "no memory" of the offence as he was heavily intoxicated at the time.

Defence counsel Lili Prais explained Harris had started misusing substances aged 12 and that this escalated as he grew older.

She said he then fell in with a bad crowd and went on make some "extremely poor" life choices, leading to the rape in the Scottish Borders on January 16 last year.

She told the court: "He is devastated by the actions of that night. He accepts full responsibility.

"He has no memory of the incident. He had consumed substances.

"He no longer misuses drugs or alcohol. He is no longer associating with negative peer groups."

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Ms Prais said Harris had moved to Canterbury, Kent, to stay with his grandparents and was willing to participate in any programme that could help his rehabilitation.

"There is no better example of capacity to show change," she said.

Judge Scott said a custodial sentence was justified considering the seriousness of the offence.

"You raped a child when you were 18 and she was only 12," he said.

"You knew her age."

A victim impact assessment reported that the girl continues to suffer "serious" and "ongoing" effects from her experience on a "daily" basis.

Judge Scott also told Harris that being under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the offence made no difference to his deliberations.

"I must make clear the usage of alcohol or drugs provides you with no excuse or mitigation at all," he said.

Harris, who admitted the offence and appeared via video-link from custody, was told his three-year sentence would be backdated to the day he was taken into custody last month.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.