THE canal towpaths are proving very unsafe places these days with the ever increasing number of attacks now being recorded.
A 20 years old woman was left fearing for her life as she was attacked and raped by a 15 years old on the towpath of the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Melling in December last year, Keith Gudgin tells us.
So severe
So severe was the attack by Jake Hart, that the judge in the case gave permission for him to be named, the teenager grabbing her from behind as she was taking photographs of a flooded field, punching her repeatedly.
He then demanded she undertake a sex act on him, but when she refused he pushed her to the ground and raped her, leaving her fearing for her life, with the judge Judge Robert Warnock stating:
Psychologically damaged
"You carried out a horrifying attack on a totally innocent visitor to this country. You repeatedly struck her, you caused her serious physical injury, you raped her. She was undoubtedly psychologically damaged in the extreme."
Hart was tracked by his car registration and caught due to DNA evidence, and brought to trial, and was ordered to spend four and a half years in a young offenders institute and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for life.
The woman explained to the court that she suffers flashbacks, anxiety and cannot go out alone for fear of attack. She gave up her job in this country and returned home.