A “sly, manipulative” child abuser from Fife, who asked a schoolgirl to change into his Rangers top before grabbing her wrists and raping her, has been jailed.
Steven Banks went on to rape, sexually assault and attempt to rape another girl over a period of more than two years, beginning when he was 30 and she was only 10.
A judge said Banks had insinuated his way into the lives of his victims, gained their trust and then abused it.
He jailed the rapist, from Ballingry, for 11 years.
‘Pattern of grooming’
One of the girls told police Banks was “sly, manipulative, and vindictive”.
Judge Lord Young told the 39-year-old” “Those words fit the picture.
“You groomed your first victim when she was a lonely teenager while you were in an adult relationship with one of her neighbours.
“She saw you as a friend who was sympathetic to her anxieties but you preyed on her vulnerability.
“You gained the confidence of your second victim [and] you arranged for her to stay overnight at your parents’ house where you sexually abused her, including rape.
“The abuse continued for about two years and you sought to hide what you’d done by telling her that what would happened was a secret.
“This was a gross breach of trust as well as a pattern of grooming.”
Told girl to wear Rangers top
The rape of the older girl – who had just turned 16 – happened in Banks’ mother’s home in Ballingry in 2011.
The jury heard he had invited her to have dinner, then took her to his bedroom after his mum fell asleep on the sofa.
She said: “I was extremely naive.
“I didn’t think there’d be anything wrong.
“We sat on the double bed next to each other, pretty close.
“We were just talking normally like we did.”
She said he started to kiss her.
“He asked me to get changed into his Rangers top.
“He promised that he wouldn’t hurt me. I did change into the Rangers top.”
Amidst her protestations, Banks told her she was “not a little girl but a grown woman” and then raped her.
The second girl was raped and subjected to attempted rape at addresses in Lochgelly and in a van parked in Cowdenbeath between 2014 and 2016.
She said Banks would comfort her when she was upset but he sexually abused and raped her after getting her on her own.
Jailed for Tesco robbery
Banks, who has a previous conviction for dealing cocaine, is already serving a 12-year sentence imposed four years ago for his role as a getaway driver in a £6,000 robbery at a supermarket in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire.
He had worked at the Tesco store as a shelf-stacker.
He appeared for sentence at the High Court in Stirling, by video link from Perth Prison, after being found guilty of the rapes after trial at the High Court in Livingston in July.
Lord Young ordered the rape sentence should run concurrently to the robbery jail term, for which Banks is due to be released in September 2025, effectively adding about nine years behind bars.
The judge noted a victim impact statement from the first woman stated, “there was almost no aspect of her life that had not been affected by the damage caused.”
But he said she is clearly now “a resilient young woman who had achieved much in her life and clearly determined not to let your criminal actions dictate her future.”
He ordered Banks, who he said had shown no remorse not accepted any responsibility for what he did to the girls, to be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and imposed a non-harassment order requiring him to stay away from his victims indefinitely.
Detective Inspector Graeme Dursley said: “Steven Banks is a dangerous individual who will now face the consequences for his despicable actions.
“I hope the sentence today will bring some comfort to his victims and help them move forward.”
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