A serial rapist from Tayport, who once styled himself as a vigilante exposer of sex offenders, has been locked up for a decade.
“Victim-blaming” Jody Petrie targeted three women while they were sleeping.
Petrie was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely after a court heard there was a high risk of him reoffending.
Judge Lady Drummond imposed a 13-year extended sentence, a decade of which will be served behind bars.
Prior to being remanded, Petrie had only spent 15 days of his life in custody.
His criminal history includes acting as a “one man lynch mob”, when he tried to expose another sex offender in Tayport on social media.
Three victims
Petrie, 37, preyed on his victims after they fell asleep under the influence of drink or drugs, subjecting them to vile sex attacks.
He was found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Dundee of three separate charges of rape, involving three different women over a four-year period.
Petrie was found guilty of raping his first victim in Tayport during the first half of 2017 and the second in St Andrews in January 2019.
They also found him guilty of raping a third woman in St Andrews in September 2020.
He attacked all three while they were under the influence of alcohol and drugs, asleep and incapable of giving consent.
Two further offences involving sex attacks on drugged women were found to be not proven by the jury.
Father-of-three Petrie sobbed in the dock when he was remanded in custody.
Still denies vile crimes
He appeared in court in Dundee through a video link to HMP Perth to be sentenced.
Solicitor advocate Gordon Martin said: “Mr Petrie is in the same difficulty as many people when it comes to this stage.
“He proceeded to trial. He gave evidence denying the charges.
“The jury did not accept his version of events.
“It does put him in a difficulty speaking to social workers, expressing sympathy or empathy.
“His position still is that he denies the matters.
“He accepts that the court has to deal with him on the basis of the findings of guilt.”
Mr Martin conceded the background report disclosed concerns about reoffending.
He added: “He has no great experience of custody.
“He’s currently drug free and not taking any substances.
“The evidence in the case appeared to suggest that all of these matters occurred in what might be described as social settings where alcohol and drugs had been consumed.
“He still has some family support. He is someone who has anxiety.”
Victim-blaming predator
Lady Drummond noted one of Petrie’s victims has been diagnosed with PTSD since the attack.
The judge added she was satisfied regular licence conditions would not be enough so imposed an extended sentence.
She said: “You raped these women when they were at their most vulnerable.
“I have read their victim impact statements.”
She said actions had a “devastating impact” on his victims’ confidence and trust.
The judge pointed out Petrie’s record contains drug crimes, domestic offending and breaching court orders.
She said: “You’ve blamed the victims.
“You pose a high risk to women. You’re highly likely to appear before the courts again.
“For offences of this gravity, the only sentence appropriate is imprisonment.”
‘Horrible beast’
Petrie had already raped one woman when, in 2018, he admitted taking the law into his own hands in a bid to deal with a paedophile in his hometown.
The self-styled vigilante went to pervert John Majilton’s door and filmed him in a Facebook video, which went viral.
Two weeks before the incident Majilton, a former postman, had admitted downloading a huge stash of child abuse pictures then sending one to a fellow creep he met online.
Petrie posted the video, captioned “horrible beasts” and it was soon deleted.
In the dock, he admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard Petrie had gone to his door with a jacket wrapped round his head to conceal his identity and stuck his phone through the gap.
He was sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work and told by a sheriff he had acted as a “one man lynch mob.”
The sheriff added: “You are very fortunate not to be going to prison for this.”
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