A DJ who admitted to rape in a YouTube video before later claiming to have ‘found God’ has been sentenced to prison.
Craig Strachan, 33, who performed under the name ‘Craig Saint’, was accused of climbing into his victim’s bed and raping her in a basement flat in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2013, when he was 21.
Today, he was convicted by a jury at the High Court in Livingston and received a six-year prison sentence.
Although he pleaded not guilty in July, Strachan had previously confessed in a resurfaced YouTube video from 2022, stating, “I totally f***** up and raped a girl” while under the influence of drugs.
During an interview with the ‘I’mpossible Conversation’ YouTube channel, he recalled a “spiritual awakening” he experienced last year, which reminded him of the incident. He described how, while under the influence, he had non-consensual sex with a sleeping woman, admitting, “It lasted about 10 seconds. As soon as it happened, I instantly knew, ‘s***, I should not have done that.'”
The trial revealed that Strachan had entered his victim’s bed uninvited and touched her while she slept; when she awoke, he raped her. He claimed he believed she was awake and consenting. The jury took less than an hour to reach a unanimous guilty verdict.
Strachan was convicted of entering the bed without invitation, touching the woman inappropriately, and raping her while she was asleep and unable to consent, as well as after she had awakened.
At the High Court in Stirling, Judge Fiona Tait sentenced him to six years, stating that the offence was of “considerable gravity” and had a significant impact on the victim. She commended her courage in testifying, especially given the media attention surrounding Strachan’s online confession.
Strachan has been placed on the sex offenders register for life and is subject to a non-harassment order prohibiting him from contacting his victim for 20 years. The judge deemed the order necessary due to recent contact Strachan had made with his victim that contributed to the current proceedings.
Strachan displayed no emotion during the sentencing. Throughout the three-day trial, jurors reviewed Facebook messages, including one from the victim immediately following the incident in which she stated, “You f*****g raped me.” In his police interview, Strachan acknowledged, “I shouldn’t have done it. Either way, she was sleeping and it was wrong.”
His defence advocate, Alistair Sloan, acknowledged the severity of the offence.
During the controversial YouTube conversation, Strachan smiled and giggled, claiming he had forgiven himself after “finding God.”
He mentioned: “I did admit to this and I also got in contact with the girl and her family to apologise for the situation.
“That’s why I created The Forgiveness Movement – to help people who are afraid to speak up about their wrongs and give them help with how to seek forgiveness and forgive themselves.’
“I don’t believe that someone should have to spend a lifetime carrying their mistake if they have done everything in their power to fix the situation.
“I felt so guilty. I kept feeling these feelings of guilt and shame for months afterwards. I really hope the girl forgives me one day. I was comparing myself to all these bad people when in actual fact I made a horrific mistake.”
