Husband of paedophile ring survivor jailed for raping woman and molesting child

The husband of a paedophile ring survivor, who published a book on her experience, has been jailed for raping a woman and sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

Paul Kernachan, also known as Paul Reynolds, was convicted at the High Court in Glasgow of three sex offences.

It was found that between January 1, 1993, and December 31, 1994, the 59-year-old forced a woman into a van and went on to rape her in a wooded area near Edinburgh’s Silverknowes Beach.

On Christmas day 1997, Kernachan inappropriately touched a 14-year-old girl at an address in Edinburgh.

The sex offender continued molesting the girl between May 28, 1998 and May 27, 1999. Kernachan had denied the charges, however, he was found guilty of the sex crimes at an earlier trial.

Rapist ‘supported’ survivor of paedophile ring

Kernachan was married to Dana Fowley, who was abused by a paedophile ring in Perthshire between 1987 and 1995 when she was aged six to 15.

Her mother, Caroline Dunsmore, was jailed for 12 years for her part in the abuse. Her father, Billy King, is believed to have orchestrated the sexual abuse but died before the ring was exposed.

Dana would go on to write “How Could She?”, a book detailing the betrayal she faced at the hands of her mum.

Dana died in 2024 aged 44.

Kernachan’s defence counsel, Brian McConnachie KC, said he continued to deny his guilt, but was aware of the serious harm that can be caused by sexual offending because of his history and that of his wife.

The lawyer added that Kernachan provided support to Dana, who suffered very significant sexual abuse.

The judge asked: “This is the author.”

Mr McConnachie responded: “Yes, and people were sentenced to very significant periods of imprisonment in relation to conduct against her.”

He said: “Mr Kernachan supported her throughout that and was indeed, by his own hand, effectively responsible, at least, for bringing to the attention of the authorities people who had been involved in crimes against her.”

The defence counsel said Kernachan had suffered mental health problems and his physical health was not good.

He was jailed for a total of eight years and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.