A man who terrorised a teenage girl at the TRNMST music festival has been jailed for more than four years.

Mitchell McGarry, 26, met the 15-year-old online and the pair arranged to meet at his home in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. He started having sex with the underage victim before she told him to stay away after she felt threatened by his behaviour.

But she was later confronted by him at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow Green where he followed her around the site despite being told to leave.

Mitchell McGarry, 26, met the 15-year-old online
Mitchell McGarry, 26, met the 15-year-old online

McGarry then met another 15-year-old schoolgirl and also engaged in repeated sexual activity with her.

Police were called in after he threatened her and her friends and the investigation led to his first victim revealing her ordeal.

McGarry denied any wrongdoing between February 2017 and April 2022 and went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

A jury convicted him of engaging in sexual activity and abusive behaviour with the girls after a six day trial.

He was also convicted of stalking his first victim between February 2017 and March 2019.

Sheriff Michael Higgins said there was no alternative to prison and jailed McGarry for four years and four months.

Giving evidence from behind screens, his first victim told how she saw him waiting for her moments after she arrived at TRNSMT in July 2019.

Now 21, she said: "Upon arrival we bumped into Mitchell who had been aware I was going to the festival and he was by himself.

"He kept finding reasons to be around me and at one point I had to say I was going home because I didn't want to be there anymore.

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"I left the music festival because of how much he was around and I wasn't enjoying it.

"I can't describe how I felt because it was just never ending and it seemed like there was nothing I could do to make it stop."

McGarry told the jury he was the real victim and accused both girls of making up lies to get him in trouble.

He added: "These things didn't happen and I don't know why they're saying they did."

Charles Ferguson, defence advocate, said: "He is still a young who is not too old to make something of his life.

"These offences are reflective of a young man who has shown impulsive behaviour and a lack of consequential thinking."

Sheriff Higgins said: "The author of the report says that you accept little responsibility for the offences, the seriousness of the offences, show no remorse or victim empathy and continue your denial.

"Given the seriousness of the offences which involved two young females I consider that the custodial threshold has been crossed and that the only appropriate of dealing with this is by way of a custodial sentence."

McGarry was placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely and banned from contacting his victims for five years.

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