Prison for rapist who got teen pregnant

Dylan Bennett raped a 12-year-old and got a teenager pregnant who went on to have a child by him. Bennett (22) took two girls to woods at Uphall and Livingston and raped the youngest victim at a house in Linlithgow’s High Street.

In the lead up to the rape he contacted the girl through social media sending her sexual messages and a picture of his genitals. He later lied to police about having a Facebook profile using an alias.

A judge pointed out to Bennett that he was aged 20 and 21 when he committed the offences against underage girls aged 12, 13 and 14.

Lord Woolman said his defence counsel had explained that Bennett was aware of the ages of the victims. The judge told Bennett at the High Court in Edinburgh: “The offences have had a significant impact.”

He said that not only had one girl had a child but that the youngest was admitted to hospital with a suspected overdose after the sex had occurred.

Lord Woolman said he accepted that the offences did not involve force and that Bennett had “a troubled childhood and adolescence”.

He told Bennett, a prisoner in Addiewell jail, that he would have faced a period of six years imprisonment but for his guilty pleas in the case.

Bennett earlier pled guilty to the majority of the offences, but a jury had to make a decision on a further rape allegation and convicted him of having unlawful intercourse.

The judge also ordered that he be under supervision for a further four years for the protection of the public.

Bennett was placed on the sex offenders’ register.

Bennett committed all the offences while he was freed under court bail orders.

Bennett began having sex with under age girls in December 2014 and continued up to committing the statutory rape of the 12-year-old on December 29 the following year.

Defence counsel Ronnie Renucci said: “He has confirmed that he was unaware of the age of consent in the sense that he thought it was 15.”

“He has not really had any sexual education or guidance from parents in respect of that,” he told the court.

But Mr Renucci added: “He is aware, and was aware, he was acting illegally. Clearly that lack of guidance has had an effect on him.”

The defence counsel said that Bennett’s mother had died in front of him when he was 10.