ANDREW FLETCHER

BRADFORD MAN JAILED FOR RAPING WOMAN AND EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL

A rapist who put his victim through a trial before he finally accepted attacking her has been jailed for five years.

After carrying out the attack Andrew Fletcher was said to have emotionally blackmailed his victim with threats to kill himself and even a claim that he had cancer.

Recorder Anthony Hawks told Bradford Crown Court on Monday that Fletcher had raped the woman, who must not be identified for legal reasons, despite her protests and after had pestered her in various ways not to report it to the police.

The judge said the effect on the woman had been horrendous and Fletcher had denied the offence when he was arrested.

But Fletcher, 29, of Bierley House Avenue, Bradford, was found guilty of rape by a jury following a trial and he will have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

Barrister Derek Duffy, for Fletcher, said he suffered from “intellectual deficits” and his perception of reality was not the same as the average person.

He said his client had never been properly diagnosed and had been struggling in custody.

The court heard that Fletcher had told a probation officer he was now sorry for what he did and wished he hadn’t had a trial.

“That’s good for the future you coming to terms with what you have done,” said Recorder Hawks.

"But it doesn’t really help the complainant in this case because the decision to have a trial was yours and the result was she had to go through the trial process and relive the squalid experience she had at your hands.” The judge also imposed an indefinite restraining order which bans Fletcher from contacting his victim.