Reports of rape have shot up across Tayside and Fife in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, The Courier can reveal.
Cases have doubled across Fife and risen by 120% inTayside in the last year as more historic victims seek justice . Officers in Forth Valley are also investigating a higher number of rapes, many of them historical.
Officers say the high-profile exposure of Operation Yewtree cases going back decades has prompted people in the area to feel they will finally have their own cases investigated and brought to court.
Detective Inspector Michelle Johnson, of Police Scotland Fife Division’s new rape investigation team, said: “These rapists were always there but they weren’t being reported before.
“Victims will still get the same level of investigation as someone who reported a rape which happened last night.”
Meanwhile, the number of calls to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children helpline in the past year has also nearly doubled.
Helpline head John Cameron said: “The number of calls this summer was significantly higher than last year. Eight months on, we can confidently say the Savile scandal is changing the way in which people react to abuse.”
Savile died in October 2011 and his catalogue of sex crimes was later uncovered by Operation Yewtree, which has also investigated other high profile personalities.
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