8 Year Jail Sentence for Rapist
A sex attacker who beat up a woman and then raped her has been jailed.
Gareth Smith subjected his terrified victim to a frenzy of blows before he forced himself on her.
Smith set upon the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in March this year.
He dragged her into his flat in Portsmouth where he pinned her to the floor and raped her.
The 30-year-old then told his victim to wash herself.
She required hospital treatment for swelling around her eye and extensive bruising but did not tell doctors that she had been raped.
The victim eventually contacted police a few days later to report the sex attack and Smith was arrested.
After a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court, Smith, of Allaway Avenue, Paulsgrove, was jailed for eight years.
Police today welcomed the sentence. Detective Constable Kristy O’Brien, from Portsmouth CID, said: “We welcome the sentence, which signifies the end of a long and difficult journey for the victim.”
‘I’d encourage others suffering this kind of abuse to speak out and contact the police, because we take offences such as these very seriously.
“I’d like to thank everyone involved in this investigation for their professionalism and commitment, and also to the victim for her full co-operation and support throughout.”
A jury found Smith guilty of two counts of rape and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm. Smith had denied all the charges and forced his victim to go through the ordeal of re-living her experiences during the trial.
He is likely to serve four years behind bars before he is released into the community on licence.
During the licence period he will be supervised by the probation service.
Smith will also remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
He will have to tell police where he is living at all times and if he moves home.
Treetops Care
- The Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Northern Road, Cosham, saw 370 victims in its first year.
- Of those, 337 victims (91%) were referred by police and 37 were men.
- In total 33 victims seen (9 %) were aged under 16.
- 52 people referred to the centre (14 per cent) were victims of domestic violence and 74% were vulnerable adults.
- A total of 311 victims underwent a forensic examination.
- Staff started offering service to teenagers ages 13-16 in May 2007 to supplement limited paediatric facilities available in the county.
Plans for more SARCs welcomed in Portsmouth
Portsmouth today welcomed government plans to pump £1.6m into creating ten new sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) across Britain.
The south’s first SARC – The Treetops Centre at Cosham – will celebrate its second birthday next month.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith today pledged the extra funding to help other areas increase the support offered to victims of sexual assault and rape.
Mary Bridgman, who manages Treetops, which serves Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said the £1.6m would be money well spent.
She said: “Since we opened on November 22, 2006, we’ve seen around 750 people. The number of referrals has increased over that two-year period, with an 11% rise in the first six months of this year compared to last year.
I feel that our clients have benefited enormously from this centre and I welcome the fact that more other people across Britain could benefit from similar resources soon.
Treetops provides a professional client focused service, with on site crisis intervention, specialist forensic medical examinations and referral to appropriate medical and specialist counselling services.
Some 77% of clients have received forensic examinations, 93% have been female and 11% self referrals.
Portsmouth City Council’s Early Intervention Project provides advocacy and support and works closely with the Crystal Unit, a new initiative dedicated to the investigation rape and serious sexual assaults in the area. The unit is the first scheme of its kind outside London.
A young person’s worker is also available working from the centre to work with victims aged 13 to 18.
Treetops has been made possible by a partnership between the Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care Trust, Hampshire police, the council, with support from the Rape Crisis services across Hampshire.
In 2007, it won two awards for partnership working – one from the Strategic Health Authority and one from the Portsmouth Operational Command Unit of the police.
Treetops has referrals from the police and self referrals. If someone is undecided about whether to report a rape or serious sexual offence to the police, they have the option of contacting the SARC direct for support from the Early Intervention Project team and the young person’s worker. Forensic samples can be taken to secure evidence in the event they do decide to report to the police in the future.
Partnership working is integral to a service which is available to the police 24/7.
The government eventually aims to double the number of SARCs from 19 to 38.
Issued by Mark Wingham on (023) 9283 5070.
New help for Portsmouth rape victims
A dedicated sexual assaults unit is to be set up by Hampshire Police in a bid to increase detections.
In a Home Office-funded pilot project – the first outside London – the Crystal Unit will be based at Fratton police station in Portsmouth.
The unit will be monitored and, when the pilot ends, compared to statistics of similar crimes in Southampton.
One woman who claims to have been raped said she hoped the unit would encourage more people to come forward.
Claire Portsmouth, who has waivered her right to anonymity, said no one had been convicted of the attacks on her.
When I got there I was already traumatised and the police officer on the desk was not very interested, it was like being turned away, so I left.
I was raped and sexually assaulted over a period of two years.
“After the first incident I didn’t report it to the police straight away but after a particularly violent assault one night I did go to the police.”
“[Later a] police officer said it was historic and you have not got a hope of a conviction. I can’t really describe how I felt, really disheartened I suppose.”
The number of rapes reported in Portsmouth for the 12-month period commencing April 2006 was 127 (157 in Southampton) and in the following year, it was 122 (160 in Southampton).
The new unit will have a dedicated team of officers, including investigators specially trained in detecting sexual offences, as well as Crown Prosecution Service lawyers.
The Crystal Unit spells out our commitment to survivors of these terrible crimes. This is the first opportunity anywhere in the country to examine in detail why people sometimes do not proceed through the criminal justice system. – Det Ch Insp Richard John.
Staff at the Crystal Unit will also be working closely with partnership agencies such as the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, known as the Treetops, in Cosham and Portsmouth City Council’s Early Intervention Project.
If someone is undecided about whether to report a rape or serious sexual offence to the police, they have the option of contacting the SARC direct on 023 9221 0352 for support from the Early Intervention Project team and the Young Persons Worker. Forensic Samples can be taken to secure evidence in the event they do decide to report to the police in future.
Other publicity involving the Crystal Unit: