A TEENAGE girl has been raped by a paedophile who had only just been released from prison.
The 13-year-old girl was attacked by predator Wayne Scarratt at a popular Midlands beauty spot, a fortnight after he was freed from a previous prison sentence.
He has now been returned to jail ahead of his new sentencing later this month.
Convicted sex offender Scarratt carried out the attack in a wooded area at Chasewater Country Park in Burntwood, Staffordshire, 15 miles north of Birmingham.
Scarratt, 28, and his victim had met up last August after his phone number was written in graffiti at a park.
He went on to grab her from behind before punching and stamping on her face while raping her – then stealing her phone, £5 in cash and bus pass, leaving her abandoned.
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The girl was left with a fractured right cheek, broken collarbone and bruising, the Birmingham Mail reported.
She did manage to alert a passing cyclist, who called the police.
Scarratt was found hiding in a hedge in nearby Malvern in Worcestershire.
He was convicted of rape in May, having claimed he thought his victim was 18 – only for prosecutors to reveal messages in which the girl told him she was a child.
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He was also found guilty of assault by penetration, assault, theft and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Det Con Dan Hopkins, of Staffordshire Police's Child Protection and Exploitation Unit, said: "Scarratt was manipulative and callous in his brutality against the victim who has shown great bravery throughout the investigation and court process.
"I am pleased the jury saw through Scarratt’s denials and hope his conviction brings some comfort to the victim and her family as they continue to come to terms with what happened."
Crown Prosecution Service figures show rape charges in the Midlands rose from 192 in 2021 to 247 last year.
Douglas Mackay, from CPS West Midlands, said they were improving the handling of such cases "through better victim communication and early investigative advice".
He added: "We are pleased that we can continue to develop and improve the processes which support partnership working with police forces across the West Midlands so that more victims of sexual offences can get justice."
Eight women from the West Midlands were found guilty in April this year for their role in one of Britain's worst-ever child sex abuse rings.
The following month Alun Kyte, a sadistic double killer known as the "Midlands Ripper", was jailed for sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy in Stafford during a five-year reign of terror.
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