Man jailed for rape and defrauding ex-partners of £214,000

A rapist who abused nine women he met online and defrauded them of £214,000 has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Christopher Harkins, 37, used Facebook and the dating app Tinder over a period of six years to target his victims across Scotland.

The gambling addict stole the identities of several women to obtain short-term loans and forced one of them to open an online betting account in her name.

A court heard that Harkins pretended his bank account had been frozen and told his victims he needed money to continue his business.

He accepted amounts ranging from £350 to £72,525 and also asked some women for cash to book non-existent holidays.

Scottish police described the fraudster as a “violent and despicable individual”.

Harkins, from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, had previously pleaded guilty to eleven counts of fraud at the High Court in Paisley.

He was also found guilty after a trial of raping a victim in her sleep, grievous bodily harm and four sexual offenses.

The crimes were committed between 2013 and 2019 in Glasgow, Paisley, Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, Stirling, Edinburgh, West Lothian and London.

Harkins was already sentenced to 15 months in prison last year for defrauding a finance worker he met online out of £16,000 after convincing her that he owned his own currency exchange business and would pay her back.

On Wednesday he was sentenced for his latest crimes at the High Court in Kilmarnock.

Judge Alistair Watson told Harkins that he had targeted single women on dating websites and tried to gain their trust.

The fraudster posed as a successful businessman and then made up stories about why he needed short-term cash loans.

The judge said some women borrowed money to help him, while others lent him their entire savings.

He added: “After achieving your goal with each victim, you moved on to the next and repeated the process, leaving a trail of emotional devastation and financial hardship in your wake.”

“The level of damage you have caused is extremely high.

“Many of your victims lost all or part of their personal savings, leaving some in financial difficulty.”

Judge Watson said Harkins’ “love scam” was a calculated ploy to exploit his victims.

He added: “It is clear that this particular type of fraud can have devastating psychological effects on victims, not to mention the financial loss they suffer.”

“I have taken the time to read the statements of numerous victims of these crimes.

“You describe in detail the feelings of shame, humiliation, stress and exhaustion you suffered as a result of your criminal conduct.”

He told the court that background reports described behaviour that was “aimed at exerting power and influence over women”.

Harkins received an indefinite restraining order against each victim, prohibiting him from coming within 100 yards of the victims.

He was also placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

After the verdict, Det Ch Insp Lyndsay Laird said: “Christopher Harkins is a violent and despicable individual who targeted women who were looking for love and companionship.”

“He made her believe they were in a loving and exclusive relationship, but that was nowhere near the truth.”

The senior officer said the fraudster’s sole motive was money and after building relationships, he resorted to “manipulation, threats, coercive control and violence” to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Det Ch Insp Laird added: “The fact that he was convicted is a huge credit to the women who came forward to police.”

“This case underscores that domestic violence is not only physical or sexual in nature, but also includes abusive behavior or financial abuse.

“It is often about power and control and can have life-changing consequences for victims.”