A rapist who targeted single women on dating apps and conned them into handing over more than £210,000 has been jailed for his “appalling” crimes. Christopher Harkins preyed on women in a six-year reign of terror targetting victims in Airdrie, Cumbernauld, Dumbarton, East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley and Stirling berween 2013 and 2019.
The 37-year-old committed 19 separate criminal offences towards 10 different victims, including rape, assault, physical abuse and fraud. Harkins, from Helensburgh, quickly befriended the women and gained their trust when portraying himself as a successful businessman before inventing stories as to why he needed short-term loans of cash.
Several women borrowed significant sums in order to help him with the High Court in Kilmarnock hearing how some had been left in “financial difficulty” and very little had ever been recovered. Harkins persuaded a number of the women to transfer him money for holidays, sending them screenshots of alleged destinations.
He persuaded them to pay for half the cost but never booked the trips away and failed to return the majority of the funds given to him. He pleaded guilty to the fraud charges at the High Court in Glasgow on January 16 and four months later, following a trial at the High Court in Paisley, Harkins was subsequently found guilty of raping one former partner.
He was also convicted of filming two women in intimate situations without their consent before sending them the graphic content. Judge Alistair Watson on Wednesday July 10 sentenced the sex fiend to 12 years in prison.
He said: “You targeted single females on dating websites. Once you had achieved your aim with each victim you moved on to the next, and you repeated the process, leaving a trail of emotional devastation and financial distress in your wake.
“Your conduct towards your victims displays very high culpability. You abused the trust placed in you by each one of your victims. The number, nature and manner of commission of your offending is indicative of a significant degree of planning. It was conducted over a sustained period of time and towards a significant number of separate victims.
“The degree of harm caused by you is extremely high. These frauds are what are commonly described as ‘romance scams’. The court recognises that this is a particular type of fraud which prays upon a person’s compassion and emotions, where your contrived pleas and explanations as to your need for money were in fact calculated ploys designed to take advantage of the decent nature of those women.”
Additionally, Harkins’ name was permanently placed to the register of sexual offenders. For an indeterminate duration, non-harassment orders have also been granted, prohibiting Harkins from making contact with or attempting to contact ten victims.
Katrina Parkes, Scotland’s Procurator Fiscal for High Court Sexual Offences, stated: “Christopher Harkins’s violent, cunning, and cunning behavior clearly poses an extreme danger to women.” His numerous victims have courageously come forward to report him to the police.
“Hopefully, this conviction will protect others from his heinous schemes and depraved actions while providing some comfort to the women he targeted.” I appreciate the prosecution team’s efforts in getting this conviction because it was a difficult case.
We wish to urge everyone who feels they have been the victim of similar crime to come forward and file a report. You will be heard, and we will seek justice with every resource at our disposal.
Detective Chief Inspector Lyndsay Laird of Police Scotland said: “Christopher Harkins is a violent and contemptable individual who preyed on woman looking for love and companionship. He made them believe they were in a loving and exclusive relationship but that was nowhere near the truth.
“His only motive was money. Harkins met the woman through a dating app and once he had formed relationships with them he turned to manipulation, threats, coercive control and violence to obtain thousands of pounds which he used to fund his very lavish lifestyle. The fact that he was convicted is a tremendous credit to the women who came forward to police.
This case emphasizes that financial abuse and abusive behaviors are also forms of domestic violence, in addition to physical and sexual assault. It frequently has to do with control and power, and the victims may have life-altering effects.
“We genuinely hope that this outcome inspires confidence in others to come forward who may encounter anything similar, knowing that police will look into it.”
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