KARL CALDER-HARLEY AND SHOCKING CRIMES IN FALKIRK AND STIRLINGSHIRE
A convicted paedophile and drug dealer from Falkirk has been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of heinous crimes involving multiple young girls.Karl Calder-Harley, aged 26, targeted vulnerable teenagers in a series of disturbing incidents that have shocked the local community and brought to light the dark underbelly of exploitation and abuse.
The most recent and particularly disturbing case involved Calder-Harley luring a 13-year-old girl he found on TikTok.
He initiated contact by messaging her on Snapchat, and after some communication, she agreed to meet him.
Calder-Harley then drove her to a secluded location near Throsk in Stirlingshire.
During this encounter, he threatened her with a knife and proceeded to assault her inside his customized Ford Mondeo.
The High Court in Stirling heard that Calder-Harley gave the young girl money, took her phone away while she was in his vehicle, and explicitly told her not to save any of the Snapchat messages they exchanged.
The assault took place in December 2020, just two to three days after the girl's 13th birthday, at a time when Calder-Harley was nearly 24 years old.
The incident was eventually reported to the police, leading to his arrest.
During police interviews, Calder-Harley chose to remain silent, offering no comment.
Authorities also questioned other girls who might have been in contact with him.
Further investigations uncovered that Calder-Harley had also raped a 15-year-old girl, who revealed that he used to pick her up from her high school in Stirlingshire while she was in her school uniform.
This abuse occurred between April and June of 2016, when Calder-Harley was 20 years old.
It was also revealed that Calder-Harley had a prior criminal record, including a conviction related to the supply of cocaine and a previous offence under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
His criminal history also includes an earlier incident when he was only 18, involving the rape of an 18-year-old woman with whom he had been in a relationship from June 2013 to June 2016.
The woman testified from behind a screen, describing how the assault left her crying and pleading for him to stop, but he continued despite her tears.
She recounted that Calder-Harley manipulated her, smashed her phone, ripped her clothes, and physically assaulted her by punching and pushing her downstairs during their relationship in Stenhousemuir, also in Stirlingshire.
Following a four-day trial at the High Court in Stirling, a jury composed of eight women and seven men deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict on Calder-Harley for three counts of rape and one charge of engaging in sexual activity with a minor.
Calder-Harley, who is unemployed and works as a dumper driver from Stenhousemuir, denied all charges, claiming the rapes never occurred.
As the verdict was read, he was seen sobbing and crying, and the judge, Lord Colbeck, revoked his bail immediately.
He was remanded into custody to await reports before sentencing, scheduled for October 3rd at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Prosecutor Chris Macintosh described Calder-Harley as someone who had preyed on three naive and vulnerable young girls to satisfy his own depraved needs.
The defense, represented by solicitor-advocate Simon White, reserved their right to mitigation, indicating they would present arguments in his favor at a later stage.
