A teenage ‘sexual predator’ who raped three young girls in separate attacks has been jailed.
Kai Edwards, 18, manipulated or bullied each of his victims into having sex and then carried on when they told him to stop.
Each of the girls have been left suffering ‘severe psychological harm’ since the attacks, Hull Crown Court heard.
Not only did Edwards force each of them to relive the worst experience of their lives in a courtroom full of strangers, he shamelessly accused them of hatching a plot against him.
He was found guilty of three counts of rape and one of assault by penetration and jailed for seven years.
Edwards will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.
David Godfrey, prosecuting, told jurors the three girls, neither of whom knew any of the others, met Edwards on social media.
The first girl said she felt pressured by him into having sex but he told her ‘you’ll be fine’ and carried on.
‘She asked him again to stop and he ignored her,’ Mr Godfrey said.
The girl later contacted the police.
She said: ‘I went from being confident to not wanting to leave the house and becoming a very anxious person. I felt disgusted at the time.
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‘He made me feel so low. I couldn’t live with the fact that he had done that to me. The hardest pill to swallow was that he didn’t care.
‘I felt embarrassed and mortified that I had let it happen to me. I was young and naive and he took full advantage of that.’
The second girl claimed that Edwards slapped, punched and kicked her as well as calling her nasty names.
He sexually abused and raped her. She later said: ‘I was in utter disbelief and shock.
‘This impacted me so much I couldn’t sleep at night. I still have flashbacks about it. Look at what he has done to my life.
‘He has absolutely ruined it. I hope one day to heal from this but I am not in that place yet.’
Mr Godfrey said that the third girl was repeatedly ‘pestered’ by Edwards.
She fell asleep and woke up to find Edwards having sex with her.
The girl later said: ‘My first sexual experience was being raped. I have never managed to get over what he did to me.
‘This flashback memory controls my life.
‘I cry a lot about what happened. I feel disgusted about what Kai did to me. I truly hate him.
‘I don’t believe that he feels any remorse for what he did. I don’t know if I will ever be the same person again.’
During his defence evidence, Edwards was asked if he raped the girls. He replied: ‘No, I did not.’
When asked if he was violent to one of the girls, he replied: ‘No, never.’
Edwards went so far as to claim there had been a conspiracy against him.
Even his own barrister said he had ‘shown no remorse’.
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Lisa Grantham said: ‘This was a lengthy and complex investigation, and I would like to commend the bravery of all three girls for assisting with our enquiries as we stacked up the evidence against a sexual predator like Edwards.
‘It is thanks to their courage and willingness to engage with the court proceedings that led him to be found guilty, and now serving jail time.
‘We take all reports of rape, and other sexual offences, both recent and non-recent, extremely seriously.
‘No matter your age or gender, or whether the offences took place yesterday or 30 years ago, we would encourage you to tell someone you trust and when you are ready, report it to the police.’
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