A CROSSGATES rapist was jailed for 13 years after spiking a woman's drink and telling her "prove it" when she confronted him over the sex attack.

Craig Slater, 50, of Droverhall Avenue, was convicted last month of a catalogue of sexual abuse and violence against women, including getting three victims to consume intoxicating substances without their knowledge.

He was sentenced to 13 years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday and, as he is considered a high risk, will be kept under supervision for a further two years.

Judge Tom Hughes QC said Slater had engaged in "quite horrendous conduct" and it was obvious he was "a clear danger to women".

He added that he had read victim impact statements and said: "Their lives have been blighted."

The judge said: "They came to court and gave their evidence with dignity and the jury believed them and it may well be they can take some comfort from that."

Jobless Slater was found guilty of 11 charges, including four rapes, assault to danger of life with intent to rape, indecent assault and assault. He was acquitted of a further four charges of indecency, indecent assault and assault. He had denied a string of charges.

Slater committed a series of violent and sexual crimes between 1993 and 2014 in Methil and Inverkeithing.

Among his five victims, he raped three women and assaulted a two-year-old boy.

One woman who met him through the Plenty of Fish dating website said she was left feeling "sleepy" and "dopey " after consuming a drink prepared by Slater.

The 45-year-old went to bed but knew when she awoke that someone had sex with her, although she had no recollection of intercourse and confronted Slater. His response was to laugh and tell her: "Prove it".

Slater also raped the woman after telling her to choke him and strangle him and treat him like his mother had.

He grabbed her arms, gripped her by the throat and forced her to have sex.

The victim said that when she first got to know Slater he had seemed nice but later turned abusive and violent.

Another rape victim said: "I was terrified. I was scared. I felt disgusted but I didn't want anyone else to know anything."

The 49-year-old said she had suffered flashbacks and sleeplessness in the wake of his crimes.

During one assault Slater had pulled a ring off her finger.

She said: "He knelt on my chest. I couldn't breathe at all. I felt as if I was suffocating.

"I had pain in my chest. I thought I was going to die."

She said that afterwards she was curled up in a ball and crying.

Advocate depute Richard Goddard asked what Slater's reaction was and she replied: "Nothing. He just laughed."

During an attack Slater ripped her blouse after he pushed her down. She said: "He was trying to rape me."

She said that in another assault he had been drinking and lunged at her, pulled her hair and threw her against a window and her arm went through it.

The court heard that the woman was raped after she had gone to bed feeling really tired. She woke to find Slater on top of her having sex with her.

She pushed him and asked him what he was doing but he laughed and said: "I am finished anyway."

The woman said it was "disgusting".

Slater also indecently assaulted the woman when she was in the bath.

The third rape victim said she was in "shock" when he assaulted her and took off her underwear. The 46-year-old woman said: "I felt dirty and I felt violated."

Slater also punched the woman on the side of the head and hit her two-year-old son during a separate attack.

He told the court that he had previously taken amphetamine for years but took ecstasy only a few times and denied the sex assaults and spiking women's drinks.

Defence solicitor advocate Iain Paterson said Slater still maintained his innocence.

Slater was placed on the sex offenders' register.