SEAFORD MAN JAILED FOR RAPING YOUNG WOMAN AFTER NIGHT OF ALCOHOL AND DRUGS
A man who raped a vulnerable young woman while she was asleep has been sentenced to six years in jail.James Farmer, 30, from Spracklands in Dinton, near Salisbury, committed the assault in Seaford.
His victim woke up on a sofa to find Farmer, then 25, raping her after he had consumed a mixture of alcohol and drugs.
Farmer instructed her not to report the crime and fled the scene when confronted by others, evading police dogs and a drone to escape.
The following day, Farmer surrendered to police but issued a prepared statement denying the assault and refused to answer questions.
He was later questioned again after forensic testing but continued to deny his guilt.
Farmer was scheduled for prosecution in August 2024 but failed to attend hearings at Brighton Magistrates’ Court and Hove Crown Court earlier in the year.
He eventually pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced by Judge Mark van der Zwart at Lewes Crown Court on June 4.
In court, his victim described how the attack "broke me in ways I didn’t think someone could break," feeling degraded and stripped of her dignity, and that her life was turned upside down, forever changed.
The court also heard that Farmer had prior convictions for battery and drug offences and was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.
The judge remarked on his troubled childhood but emphasized that Farmer continues to pose a risk to young women and therefore imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order.
Farmer was remanded in custody to begin addressing his substance addictions, and the victim has received support from specially-trained officers.
Detective Constable Christopher Wright from Sussex Police noted the case's distress and praised the victim’s courage in coming forward, encouraging others to report similar crimes.
