Soldier who raped teenager spared jail due to life-limiting condition

A former soldier who violently raped a 13-year-old girl at a Highlands campsite has been spared jail due to his life-limiting medical condition.

A court heard that Shaun McKenna, 36, who also committed sex crimes against two other teenagers, was diagnosed with the degenerative condition Huntington's Disease in 2022.

Judge Lord Arthurson said McKenna's personal circumstances were of a "unique nature".

He said each offence on their own merited a jail-term but did not feel prison would meet McKenna's specialised needs. He will instead be supervised at his care home in Kinross where he is not allowed to leave on his own.

McKenna - once a charity champion raising money to help fellow veterans - previously pleaded guilty to four charges, including rape and lewd and libidinous behaviour.

Lord Arthurson said that due to McKenna's personal circumstances, disposing of the case was a "far from routine sentencing exercise".

The hearing was told HMP Edinburgh appeared to be the "most suitable" prison to accommodate the needs of the sex attacker's deteriorating condition.

But in his sentencing remarks, Lord Arthurson said: "It is not at all clear to me that the necessary intensive specialised care can realistically be provided in a prison estate.

"In any event, the very real question arises if it would be in the public interest to impose a custodial sentence as it would transfer the burden of care from a nursing home offering specialised care to the prison authorities."

After considering all background material - including a consultant neurologist's report - the judge decided to instead impose a three-year community payback order on McKenna.

This requires him to remain and be supervised at his current nursing home. He was also put on the sex offenders list.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that the 13-year-old had been on holiday with her family in the Highlands in 2020.

She was alone in a tent when McKenna - then a lance corporal with 3 Scots - came in and stood close to her. He then pinned her down, lay on top of her and raped her.

Prosecutor Gordon Lindhorst said the girl tried to fight McKenna off, but she was stopped from kicking out or moving.

Lindhorst said: "He told her to stop crying and screaming as well as to shut up. He said if she told anyone, he would do it worse."

The girl eventually managed to escape but did not tell her mother, who noticed that she was "exhausted and drained".

She only revealed what had happened to her in January 2022.

McKenna was arrested in August that year but was "not deemed suitable for interview" as a result of his condition.

He was released without charge due to what was considered to be "lack of available corroboration".

In April 2023, McKenna targeted a woman he had latterly been "friends" with on Facebook.

Lindhorst said she got a message "out of the blue" and was sickened to see a video of McKenna carrying out a sex act on himself.

Police were alerted and the woman then disclosed McKenna had sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers living in the same town.

Another victim then came forward saying McKenna had also preyed on her when she was a teenager.

She said she had been with other youngsters planning to camp overnight in a Highlands wood in 2008.

The court heard how McKenna later turned up and was "all over" the teenager "like a rash".

The girl, who said she had been drinking, was sexually assaulted in a quiet area.

Lindhorst said: "She did not consent to any of this happening. She had never previously engaged in sexual activity and had never met McKenna before that night."

The court heard this victim was "frightened" to tell anyone at the time.

McKenna was discharged from the army in 2023, having served 10 years.

That year, McKenna told how he was battling his condition to fundraise for fellow squaddies, veterans and their families in the gruelling 54-mile Soldier's Charity Cateran Yomp across Perthshire countryside.

He had also completed the Washington Marine Corps Marathon in America a year earlier.

He had also spoken about his "bucket list" dream of reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro.

Addressing him, Lord Arthurson said: "I wish to make it crystal clear that the disposal today is borne out of a set of circumstances which are unique in my experience as a sentencer.

"You have left behind you a trail of devastated lives. Your victims experienced real trauma at your hands and their suffering continues to endure.

"It is hoped this disposal should not in any way be suggestive that the court does not fully acknowledge that ongoing trauma."