Victim Speaks Out Following Sentencing
A woman who was raped in Dundee at the age of 16 by a former psychology student has described the lasting impact of the assault as placing her in a "lifelong emotional prison."
Nicholas Grannell, 27, was sentenced to six years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury found him guilty.
The court heard that during the attack, Grannell placed his hands around the teenager's throat.
The victim characterized Grannell as a "manipulative and dangerous predator."
"Nicholas Grannell will only spend six years in jail but he has put me in a life-long emotional prison I can never escape from.
I struggle to understand why this happened to me and how the confident girl I was is now isolated from the life I enjoyed.
I don't know if I'll ever be the same again, but I am dealing with what he did to me the best I can."
Grannell was convicted at the High Court in Dundee in February.
Sentencing Details
During sentencing, Lord Renucci stated,
"She was crying and telling you to stop, that she did not want it, but you ignored her and carried on."
The judge emphasized that the impact of the 2023 attack was "significant and enduring."
Defence counsel Gary Allan KC noted that Grannell had no relevant previous convictions.
He also mentioned that Grannell had studied psychology at university and remarked,
"His ambitions to pursue that career, after he is free to do so, are in tatters following this conviction."
Lord Renucci informed Grannell that he would be placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and issued a non-harassment order prohibiting him from approaching, contacting, or communicating with his victim.
