A 16-YEAR-OLD boy has been sentenced to nine years in detention after being found guilty of raping a woman as she walked home along the busy North Road in Cardiff. The assault took place in June, following the woman’s evening out with family and friends.
The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after being convicted of both rape and assault by penetration. The court heard how he had identified the woman as “intoxicated and vulnerable” and decided to follow her with the intent to commit the attack.
Prosecutor James Hartson told the court that the victim, a married mother, had been walking home alone and was visibly intoxicated. She had left a pub shortly before the attack, which occurred on a busy section of North Road, a major route in and out of the city centre.
Describing the events of the night, Mr Hartson said the teenager initially passed the woman walking in the opposite direction before turning around and following her. He then overtook her and stopped near a grass verge, where the assault took place. The woman, whose memory was impaired due to her level of intoxication, recalled being approached by the boy, who placed his arm around her. Initially, she believed he was offering assistance. However, her next memory was of being on the ground with the teenager on top of her, raping her.
Despite her efforts to tell him to stop and push him away, the boy carried out the attack before fleeing the scene. The woman managed to get to her feet and make her way home. She reported the incident to South Wales Police later that evening. The following day, the teenager was arrested after police reviewed CCTV footage from the area.
During his police interview, the boy claimed that the woman had smiled at him and that the pair had consensually kissed and had sex. However, the court found him guilty following a trial at Cardiff Youth Court.
In an emotional victim impact statement read to the court, the woman revealed that the attack had “changed her life forever”. She spoke of how she no longer recognised herself, having once been a confident and trusting individual who enjoyed the company of others. She now struggles to be around people and is undergoing counselling to come to terms with the trauma of the assault.
Defence barrister William Bebb told the court that the teenager had experienced significant neglect and exploitation during his childhood, including exposure to pornography from a very young age. Despite this, the court heard that the boy showed no remorse for his actions, with Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke remarking that he had no empathy for his victim and harboured considerable anger towards her.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Lloyd-Clarke stated that the teenager had immediately targeted the woman upon realising she was intoxicated, viewing her as an easy target for a sexual assault. She also noted that the defendant had been under the influence of cannabis at the time of the attack.
The judge handed down an extended sentence of nine years, consisting of five years in detention and a further four years on licence. The teenager will serve two-thirds of his custodial sentence before being eligible for release and will remain on the sex offenders’ register for life.
The case, which had been committed to the Crown Court due to the severity of the offences, has left a lasting impact on the victim, with her life profoundly altered by the events of that June evening.
