STV NewsA former children’s soft play worker who raped six young girls has been locked up for nine and a half years.
Robert McGovern subjected his victims to horror ordeals during a four-year campaign of abuse starting when he was only 15 himself.
One of the girls bravely went to police after giving a talk based on her suffering.
The now 19-year-old was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to a total of ten charges including raping all six girls.
The crimes occurred between October 2019 and March 2023 at various addresses in Edinburgh.
McGovern, of the capital’s Northfield area, was also put on the sex offenders list indefinitely.
The court heard how the teenager was initially physically violent with the first girl including choking her during a “playfight”.
He also grabbed a knife and stood at the front door after she asked to go home.
McGovern later went on to rape her in woods in the summer of 2020.
The next victim was preyed upon after they got chatting on FaceTime.
Sinister McGovern later went on to demand she take part in video calls even as she slept.
She was repeatedly raped including after they had taken selfie photos together in his bedroom.
During one attack, McGovern stated: “Come on, it is just fun.”
The next girl was also subjected to violence and called horrible names.
Prosecutor Kath Harper told how he would “repeatedly pester” her for sex.
He also got her to send intimate photos – and blackmailed her that he would show people them if she did not agree to his sick demands.
The fourth girl was just 12 when she was raped in woods near a golf course.
McGovern took advantage of the next girl – also in woods – after she had been drinking.
He pinned her down as she started crying.
The final girl was called “fat” and “worthless” with McGovern telling her to “kill herself”.
She once locked herself in a bathroom to get away from him, but he burst his way in, attacked her and left her unconscious.
This victim was also subjected to sexual violence including when she was initially asleep.
He further raped her on a secluded gravel path despite her pleas she did not want sex.
She did not reveal her suffering until March 2023.
The teenager was involved in a course which included a discussion about violence.
Someone involved in the course – who was employed by Women’s Aid – was concerned enough to speak with the girl afterwards before police were alerted.
Iain McSporran KC, defending, said McGovern accepted he had behaved in an “appalling fashion”.
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