Edinburgh brute who attacked woman and raped a teenage girl still denies his guilt

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

Gordon Cannon,46, preyed on his victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between November 2008 and August 2009 at locations in Edinburgh.

The high court in the city heard how Cannon - who also comes from the Scottish capital - was brought to justice after the women spoke to police.

Cannon, who has previous convictions denied any wrongdoing. But he was convicted by a jury last month and sentence was deferred for the court to obtain a report on his character.

Trial judge Fiona Tait told Cannon she had no other option but to send him to prison.

In the moments before Cannon was taken from the court room to begin his prison sentence, judge Tait told him he’d be supervised by the authorities for three years following his release from custody.

She told him: “These crimes are of considerable gravity. They will have a substantial impact upon each of the complainers.

“Because of the gravity of the crimes, a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in the case.”

READ MORE: Edinburgh rapist jailed for eight years after victim pens essay to decide if she had been sexually assaulted

At proceedings earlier this year, the court had heard how Cannon sexually assaulted the woman on an occasion between January 1 2008 and November 28 2008.

He repeatedly raped the teenager between August 20 2008 and August 19 2009.

Cannon, a prisoner of HMP Saughton, also pleaded guilty to breaching a court bail order by contacting the woman he sexually assaulted on April 4 2019.

He also admitted possessing a knife in Newhaven Main Street in February 2020.

READ MORE: 'Depraved' Edinburgh sex offender posed online as a teenager before raping terrified schoolgirl

Defence advocate Lorraine Glancy believed he was innocent of any wrongdoing.

She added: “He continues to deny his involvement in these matters.”

Ms Glancy also said that her client had a ‘lengthy’ criminal record.

She added: “He is a man who has been troubled for many years by addiction difficulties. It is fair to say his offending pattern is of someone who has addiction problems.”

Ms Glancy said that following his release from custody, Cannon would remain under close supervision by the police due to the requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Judge Tait also said that if he didn’t comply with the terms of his release licence, he could be returned to custody.

He will be freed and will fall under the scope of criminal justice social workers and made the subject of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.