MAN SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AFTER WOMAN WAS DRUGGED
There is a high level of suspicion that something had been put into a woman's drink to "stupefy" her before she was sexually assaulted, a court has heard.Nicholas Edwards took advantage of the woman when she passed out or fell asleep at his property after they had both been drinking alcohol.
Swansea Crown Court heard that the assault happened on the night of December 28 last year after both parties had been drinking wine and champagne.
The victim later testified that "one moment" she was drinking a mouthful of wine and then she did not remember anything until waking up in pain and discovering the defendant assaulting her.
Nicholas Dylan Edwards, aged 55, from Stryd yr Eglwys, Llanon, Ceredigion, was convicted at trial of one count of sexual assault.
He had been acquitted of other charges and had no prior convictions.
Edwards was sentenced to six years in prison, with the court stating that he would serve two-thirds in custody before being released on license to serve the remainder in the community.
He will be a registered sex offender for life.
The judge, Huw Rees, mentioned that "the suspicion that something had been put into her [the complainant's] drink to stupefy her is at a high level," but he could not be certain to the criminal standard.
The court also acknowledged Edwards' character, noting that he was lonely, depressed, and separated from his family at the time.
The court emphasized that whether the woman was "voluntarily or involuntarily intoxicated," she was unaware of what was happening to her and was "particularly vulnerable."
