Teenage rapist jailed for attacks on girls in Dunfermline

A teenager who raped a schoolgirl and sexually assaulted another girl has been jailed for four and a half years at the High Court in Edinburgh. Declan Madden, 18, carried out both crimes in his hometown of Dunfermline, Fife, when he was aged 14 and 15. He carried out the first attack when the girl was 14 at a wooded area near Woodmill Road in October 2022. He assaulted the second teenager at a skate park and then an alleyway in February 2024. A judge said Madden's offending had resulted in one of his victims having flashbacks. Judge David Young KC said Madden was a child at the time of the offences but given their gravity a custodial sentence was required. He said it would be a lower sentence than that which would be imposed on an adult offender. Madden had denied the charges at an earlier trial but was convicted of both by a jury. The court heard that he continued to deny the offences. Defence solicitor advocate Brian Gilfedder said it was accepted that the convictions would result in a custodial sentence. But he asked the judge to take into account the age of Madden at the time of the offences and now. First offender Madden was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely an