Brute jailed after trying to rape teenager
A brute tried to rape a teenager he took back to his home after she became separated from her friends on a night out.
The victim, who was “eight out of 10” drunk, had ended up alone and Ian Lucas offered to help her.
But Newcastle Crown Court heard he took her back to his home and then sexually assaulted before tried to rape her.
Lucas, who is 38 and of Garron Street, Seaham, is now beginning eight years behind bar and has been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
He denied attempted rape and sexual assault but was convicted by a jury after a trial and returned to the court to be sentenced
Locking him up, Judge Gavin Doig told him: “She told you to stop and you didn’t.”
The judge praised the victim for her courage in speaking out and added: "A temptation for any young woman in her situation would have been to try to forget what happened, to pretend it hadn't happened.
“Instead, she did the right thing and reported it.
“It takes courage to make allegations of this nature.”
The court heard the victim has needed counselling after her ordeal and is haunted by nightmares that are so vivid she has to have a hot bath and clean herself afterwards, sometimes to the point where it burns. Lucas, who has no similar convictions, handed in several character references.
The court was told he has a good employment record and a young family.