A serial sex attacker who preyed on nine women and girls in Dalbeattie and Dumfries has been jailed for 15 years.
George West put his victims through horror ordeals during a campaign of abuse between 1988 and 2005.
West raped five of them including one over the bonnet of a car.
The 55-year-old also threatened to kill this victim’s young daughter, blackmailed her and held a knife to her neck.
Another woman was kicked down a flight of stairs while she was pregnant.
West was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Wednesday.
He had earlier been convicted of a total of 16 charges including multiple rapes, indecent assault and breach of the peace.
The court was told the crimes occurred in Dalbeattie and Dumfries.
West had denied the charges claiming the victims were liars.
It emerged after the trial he had previously been locked up for 10 years for a sex offence on a girl in 2005.
Lord Matthews yesterday said: “Your position is, apart from one assault, the victims were not telling the truth and that the crimes were not committed.
“Your evidence, to that effect, was rejected by the jury.”
West, of Stranraer, Wigtownshire, was also put on the sex offenders’ list indefinitely.
The court heard how the victim who was raped over the car was tormented by West for a number of years.
Prosecutors stated he threatened to “show her family” an intimate photo of her unless she agreed to sex.
She was also left terrified in a car as West drove at speed and warned he would crash deliberately.
Other victims included girls who were teenagers at the time.
West was acquitted of raping another woman who has since died.
The court was told West suffered a stroke in 2011.
Detective Inspector Craig Nicolson of the Public Protection Unit at Dumfries said:
“George West is a predatory individual who committed extremely serious sexual offences against his victims over a long period of time.
“I would like to commend them for coming forward to report the abuse they suffered. I hope that the sentencing today will offer them some comfort as they seek to put their ordeals behind them
“We are committed to bringing all perpetrators of sexual abuse to justice, regardless of the passage of time. It is never too late to report these kind of crimes and anyone with information about sexual offences or who has any concerns can contact Police Scotland on 101.”
