When she was 14, Lottie Mears got her first ever boyfriend.
Like many teenagers, she was happy and excited, sharing her days with Riley Kirk in Grangemouth, central Scotland.
The pair had met on Snapchat and bonded over their love of basketball. Snapchat messages escalated to phone calls and soon the pair were meeting up in person and calling themselves a couple.
Then one day, Lottie invited Kirk to her house for the first time and everything changed.
Kirk, then 14, cornered her in her garage, and forced himself on her and raped her.
Afterwards he told her she was ‘just annoyed because she had sex she didn’t like’.
Blaming herself, Lottie was left confused, but after a series of attacks, they split.
The following year, Kirk called Lottie, claiming to want to apologise for the abuse.
Yet, when they met, he grabbed her breasts, groped her intimately and forcefully kissed her.
This month, Kirk, now 20, was jailed for eight years with an extended period of three years, for multiple counts of rape and sexual assault against four women including Lottie.
Now, Lottie is bravely waiving her anonymity to encourage other survivors to come forward.
Recounting the first attack, Lottie, now aged 19, exclusively told Femail: ‘I was mortified and couldn’t believe what was happening to me.
‘Then, without a word, Riley walked back into the house, like it was nothing.’
Lottie Mears (right aged 14) got her first ever boyfriend as a teen. He raped and attacked her. Riley Kirk is pictured in his mugshot left, now aged 20
The pair had met on Snapchat and bonded over their love of basketball. Snapchat messages escalated to phone calls and soon the pair were meeting up in person and calling themselves a couple. Lottie is pictured now
Lottie, met Kirk in October 2019 when she was 14 after he added her on Snapchat.
The pair got chatting and hit it off and after hours on the phone they decided to meet up.
They began dating and one day, she invited him along with some friends, to her house where she lived with her granddad.
‘We had a few drinks but Riley was quiet and not socialising with my friends.
‘Wanting to cheer him up, I suggested we play a game of basketball in my garden. A sport we both loved.’
Only, as they entered the garage to look for the ball, Kirk tried to initiate sex.
‘He started to kiss me and his hand moved downwards.
‘I told him I wasn’t ready but he forcefully pushed me into a table, before grabbing my hips roughly.
Lottie, met Kirk in October 2019 when she was 14 after he added her on Snapchat. Lottie is pictured aged 14
‘When he yanked down my trousers, I started to cry.’
As Kirk forced himself on Lottie, she told him ‘no’ and ‘stop’ over and over.
When he finishing raping her, he forced her to her knees and made her perform a sex act on him.
Disturbed by the attack, Lottie blamed herself as Kirk acted normal in front of Lottie’s friends.
She wondered if she was clear enough with her protests.
‘I thought I might be to blame.
‘Did I not stress enough that I didn’t want to have sex?
‘I was confused why he wanted to hurt me.’
The following morning, Lottie confronted Kirk.
One day, while Lottie waited to get the bus home, he grabbed her roughly and kissed her again. She is pictured now
Yet, he acted confused.
Claimed they’d just had ‘sex’.
Lottie was stunned.
‘He made me feel like I was overreacting, that maybe relationship consent was different.
‘I was embarrassed so didn’t bring it up again.’
A week later, when they met again, Kirk started acting ‘weird’.
He tripped her up at a youth disco and pinged a tree branch in her face.
One day, while Lottie waited to get the bus home, he grabbed her roughly and kissed her again.
‘He was really aggressive and forceful, ‘ Lottie explained.
‘He left a bruise on my arm.
‘I was so scared, and fed up of his mind games.’
A month later, the couple split.
But in February 2020, Kirk reached out to her on FaceTime.
When Lottie saw he was with another girl she snapped.
Lottie is relived she’s finally got justice. She is pictured now
She says: ‘I lost it on the phone to him, screaming at him that he knew what he’d done to me.
‘He laughed and said, “just because you had sex you didn’t like”‘.
‘He was a monster.’
After that, Lottie blocked him on social media.
In June that year, Kirk messaged, asking if he could apologise to her for what had happened the night of the assault.
Reluctantly she agreed, and they met on a grassland near her house.
Lottie remembers: ‘He wasn’t remorseful at all and he didn’t apologise.
‘I told him he was wasting my time and went to leave.’
With that, Kirk grabbed her by the arms and put his hand over her neck.
Then he began to kiss her.
Shocked, Lottie slapped him in the face.
Raging, Kirk grabbed her by her breasts and moved his hand down below, groping her.
When she shoved him off, he called her ‘boring’ and walked off.
Lottie says: ‘I was frozen for a few minutes trying to process what had just happened.
‘As I made my way home, I threw up.
‘I was disgusted that he’d abused me again.’
In the years that followed, Lottie spiralled.
She dropped out of school aged 16 and began drinking heavily and even developed an eating disorder.
It took Lottie until March 2022 to report Kirk to the police after confiding in a new partner about his attacks.
But she was told the case couldn’t be taken forward, due to ‘lack of evidence’.
Six months later, Lottie discovered another girl had reported Kirk for abuse and an investigation was launched.
Shockingly, Kirk had even raped an 18-year-old while out on bail.
Two years on, in May this year, Lottie bravely gave her evidence at court.
At the High Court Edinburgh, Kirk was convicted of six charges involving rape and sexual assault against four victims.
He was jailed for eight years with a probation period of three years. He will be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Sentencing, the judge, Lord Harrower, said: ‘The social worker has highlighted aspects of your offending that suggest a high level of planning.
‘These include the use of social media to facilitate offline harmful sexual behaviour, and the deployment of strategies to be alone with your victims in order to avoid being disturbed and to ensure your offending would go unnoticed.’
‘You are still only 20.
‘I have taken your youth and immaturity into account when accessing culpability, just as I do your victims’ youth and immaturity when assessing harm.
‘have been provided with victim impact statements from three of the young women you raped.
‘They explain the significant effect which your attacks have had on their mental health, their education and employment, and ultimately their hopes for the future.
‘It is a reasonable assumption that your other victim will have suffered similar harm.”
Lottie added: ‘I was relieved the fight was finally over. I felt I could breathe again.
‘Riley silenced me for too long and now I’m shouting from the rooftops about the monster he is.’
‘For years, I thought Riley would get away with what he did to me.
‘I was made to believe it was my fault.
‘But, after six years, I finally have my justice.
‘Now I want others to know they will be believed and see their abusers punished.’
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this story, you can contact Rape Crisis online or on 0808 500 2222
