BLACKPOOL MAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS FOR RAPE DURING NIGHTLIFE INCIDENT
A man raped a vulnerable woman after she had to be carried from a nightclub following a civic celebration.Andrew Shaw, 24, of Dickson Road, Blackpool, took advantage of the woman at a one-bedroomed flat in St Annes after she had to be helped home.Just hours earlier, Shaw had been enjoying the Lytham Club Day celebrations on June 26 last year with his partner and children.Preston Crown Court was told that after his partner took their children home, Shaw continued drinking and went to a nightclub where he met the woman, who had been drinking heavily.At around 4 am, they left and he took her to her flat where they "collapsed" on the bed.Shaw was found guilty of raping the woman and has been sentenced to five years in prison.Judge Robert Altham stated: “A woman is entitled to expect if she is in that condition she will be treated properly and with respect by people around her.It is a serious offence to take advantage of the fact she was unable to give her consent – that message needs clearly to be heard by everybody.”He noted the woman had drunk an enormous amount of alcohol that night and emphasized that no one is entitled to take advantage of a woman in such a state.Shaw initially intended to help the woman but took advantage when she was “plainly incapable of giving, and did not give, her consent.”The complainant chose not to give a personal impact statement.
Shaw’s brother, sitting in the public gallery, cried as his lawyer read a letter from Shaw, where he asked the judge to make an order for him not to be named in the media.The defense lawyer described the offence as opportunistic, and stated Shaw regrets his actions, which were committed while drunk.
It was also mentioned that, next morning, the woman was not unduly distressed and only felt she had been taken advantage of afterwards.As part of his sentence, Shaw must sign the Sex Offender’s Register for life and is banned from working with vulnerable people.
Detective Constable Ian Massey from Blackpool CID said: “Sex without consent is rape, and if a person is too drunk to give consent, it should always be assumed they have NOT given consent.
Shaw has clearly disregarded the victim’s intoxicated state to take advantage of her.”The case details are also reported in the Blackpool Gazette.
