A scrap metal recycling firm boss tortured and raped a younger woman in Fife and Dundee.
Russell Gray, 63, inflicted “horrendous” injuries on the woman by burning her with cigarettes, gas canisters and candle wax.
His 30-year-old victim, who was also bitten, was left with scars on her face, private parts, legs and arms.
She told the High Court at Livingston Gray regularly raped her, often while she was sleeping.
She said he used unknown objects to sexually assault her.
She claimed Gray supplied her with cocaine and heroin in order to make her dependent on him so he could compel her to submit to his depraved sexual demands.
Gray, a father-of-one, had pled not guilty to repeatedly raping the woman, claiming she always consented to having sex with him.
He also denied engaging in a course of abusive behaviour by using degrading language towards her by threatening her, controlling her finances and taking videos of her under the influence of drugs and sending them to others.
The jury found him guilty after trial of both rape charges and of engaging in a course of behaviour which was abusive of his partner or ex-partner.
He was cleared of using a knife to cut the woman’s breasts to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of her life after jurors deleted the allegation from the domestic abuse charge.
Gray, originally from Glasgow, committed the offences at his late mother’s home in St Andrews, at a hotel in nearby Cellardyke and in Dundee between, all while on bail.
Body covered in injuries
The accused, whose scrap metal recycling business in St Andrews collapsed during the Covid pandemic, admitted in court he regularly smoked cocaine and heroin at the time.
He flatly denied assaulting and raping the woman and claimed they had had consensual sex “virtually on a daily basis”.
He claimed she liked rough sex so he had slapped her, pulled her hair and called her derogatory names.
However, the jury was played a recording the woman made in which she accused Gray of waking her five times by having sex with her without her consent.
She is heard telling him: “When someone’s sleeping it doesn’t mean you can help your f***ing self to it. What the f**k? Disgusting, f***ing disgusting.”
The court also heard medical evidence that small circular injuries to the woman’s face were consistent with cigarette burns and other injuries on her body were consistent with bites.
She had scars around her private parts consistent with violent sexual assaults, a hand mark on her leg consistent with being held or gripped there as she described and a chunk bitten out of her thigh.
Gray flatly denied that anything sexual had happened while the woman was asleep and claimed she was trying to send him to jail so she could get £25,000 criminal injuries compensation, adding: “It was like a lottery win to her and to me”.
Previous convictions
Advocate depute David Logan put to Gray: “The truth is you tortured this woman for your own sadistic pleasure. She had scars all over her body.”
Gray answered: “No”.
He claimed the woman’s injuries, including bite marks on her shoulder and back, were due to her self-harming.
Following the verdicts, the advocate depute moved for sentence and revealed Gray, remanded at HMP Perth, had previous convictions for sexual offences.
Judge William Gallacher told the accused he should expect a lengthy prison sentence.
The judge called for background reports, including a risk assessment, and adjourned the case until August 12 at Glasgow High Court.
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