A Burntisland man who carried out a sustained campaign of sexual violence against two women, including raping one victim while she slept, has been jailed for five and a half years. Connir Knighton, 22, targeted the two women at a property in Burntisland, Fife, between November 2021 and October 2022. The High Court in Edinburgh heard Knighton subjected one woman to multiple rapes over an 11-month period, in what prosecutors described as a “campaign of repeated sexual violence.” He also sexually assaulted a second woman before raping her while she was asleep and incapable of giving consent. Prosecutors said Knighton deliberately exploited the woman’s vulnerability, attacking her while she was unaware of what was happening. Knighton denied all of the charges, forcing both victims to relive their experiences by giving evidence during a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Earlier this year, a jury rejected his account and found him guilty. During sentencing, Knighton continued to deny responsibility for the offences. His defence team urged the court to impose a more lenient sentence, citing what they described as his “adverse childhood experiences.” However, Lady Haldane rejected the submission, ruling that the gravity of the offending required a substantial custodial sentence. Addressing Knighton, Lady Haldane said his actions had caused “profound and lasting harm” to both women. She told the court that raping a sleeping woman demonstrated a “complete disregard for consent”, while the repeated rapes committed against the first victim amounted to “a sustained pattern of sexual abuse.” Knighton was sentenced to five years and six months’ imprisonment. He was also ordered to remain on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely. One of the victims described the abuse as life-changing, telling the court she had been left afraid to leave her home and had struggled to regain her confidence. Following the guilty verdict, she issued a powerful statement, saying: “The war has already been won.” The second victim said the assault had destroyed her sense of safety and trust, leaving her with long-term emotional trauma. The case also attracted attention after Knighton’s father posted a message on social media stating: “You may have won the battle but you won’t win the war.” The remark drew widespread criticism from supporters of the victims, who described it as insensitive and dismissive of the women’s suffering.
