DARREN IVAN SMITH SENTENCED IN WARWICK FOR GROSS BREACH OF TRUST IN RUGBY

A manipulative sexual predator named Darren Ivan Smith raped a teenage girl whose mother he had met through a dating website. He also threatened to kill her family's dog if she told anyone. A judge described his actions as the "grossest breach of trust." Smith, aged 47 and of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to the rape of the girl when she was 14 or 15 years old, along with multiple counts of sexual assault. He received an extended sentence of nine years in prison, with a minimum of two-thirds to be served before release on licence. Afterward, he will be subject to lifelong sex offender registration and is banned from entering Rugby for 15 years.

Prosecutor John Hallissey explained that the relationship developed after the girl’s mother met Smith via the dating website. Following their move in together, the girl made intermittent disclosures to friends and school staff about the abuse, though she later withdrew some allegations. When she was 13, she attempted to confront her abuser at school with her mother present but withdrew her statement. Eventually, police became involved, and she gave a video-recorded interview detailing the systematic abuse she suffered after Smith moved in.

The girl recounted that Smith often walked in on her bathing or showering and touched her inappropriately, apologizing afterward. On one occasion, when she was 13 or 14, he called her into his bedroom, pushed her onto the bed, and as she tried to leave, he pushed her back down and covered her face with a pillow, warning her to be quiet or he would hurt her. He admitted to telling her that he imagined she was his real daughter during these acts to stop himself, describing a 'red mist' that would descend over him. Despite her attempts to tell him she was his daughter and that she could fight the 'red mist,' he ignored her and performed a sexual act on her before calming down and apologizing.

After these incidents, Smith would sometimes cry, and the girl found herself in the unfamiliar position of comforting him. He also threatened her if she disobeyed, saying he would tell her mother unless she was his for some time. On another occasion, he followed her into the bathroom, ordered her to remove her clothes, and demanded she perform a sex act, which she refused. Later, when she was sick and off school, she woke to find him lying next to her, touching her. She asked him to stop and tried to escape but he pulled her back and raped her.

Mr. Hallissey added that after the girl came forward, her sisters also disclosed that Smith had inappropriately touched them when they were 13 or 14 years old.

Defence lawyer Graeme Simpson stated: "He has struggled with his demons, even at the time of committing these offences." Judge Richard Griffith-Jones described Smith as a highly manipulative offender, noting that he targeted a good-natured, sensitive, and intelligent girl by using a combination of bribes and threats—sometimes emotional, sometimes physical—to control her over several years. The judge condemned Smith’s actions as "the grossest breach of trust."