A SICK predator has been jailed after travelling to Scotland to rape a 12-year-old girl.
Wayne Phillipson was found guilty of attacking the victim following a trial at the High Court in Livingston, West Lothian in August 2024.
The 48-year-old, from Durham, County Durham, sent the girl a series of sexual, indecent and obscene messages on Snapchat over a three-day period in September 2021.
He then travelled the more-than-150 miles from his home to the West Lothian area that same month after arranging to meet the girl.
Phillipson then subjected the girl to a violent sexual assault and rape in a woodland area.
The victim managed to escape, with the offender located by police a short time later.
At the end of the trial, the accused pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching bail conditions.
Today, at the High Court in Glasgow, Phillipson was ordered to serve a minimum of seven years in custody, handed an Order for Lifelong Restriction and had his name added to the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Katrina Parks, Scotland’s Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offending, said: “Wayne Phillipson is a predatory individual who used social media to target this young child in a planned course of action.
“This type of offending has no place in Scotland and victims can be assured that we are committed to the effective prosecution of such crimes.
“We hope this conviction brings some comfort and I would urge anyone with information or knowledge of offending of this kind to come forward and report it as soon as they can.
“You will be listened to and supported as we seek to secure justice using all the tools at our disposal.”