2014: RAPIST JAILED FOR FIVE YEARS
A 37-year-old rapist who subjected a teenage girl to a violent 90-minute sexual ordeal and then tried to kill himself in the river has been jailed for five years.Worcester Crown Court heard that Sims-Neighbour further degraded his victim by taking pictures of her on his mobile phone while raping her.
After the attack, he felt guilty and left a message on Facebook saying "goodbye, world" before cutting his wrists and throwing himself in the river.
He was rescued by police, as told by prosecutor Sarah Allen.
The court was told Sims-Neighbour knew the girl and met her by chance in Lloyds Bar on December 20 last year.
He took her home but there were no lights on, and she thought she was locked out.
He invited her to go with him, but upon arriving at the shared house, she realized it was his residence, and only his bedroom was available for her stay.
She watched TV and then fell asleep on his bed.
She was rudely awakened by Sims-Neighbour holding her ankles and kneeling in front of her.
She was frightened, and when she struggled, he threatened to hit her and put a pillow over her face, suffocating her, before raping her.
She turned onto her front to escape, but he raped her again.
She saw camera flashes, and police later found nine photos of the rape on the deleted file of Sims-Neighbour's mobile phone.
After the assault, he apologized and said he would go with her to the police station but then claimed he was going to "disappear." She left alone at about 4 am and called her boyfriend before reporting the incident.
Sims-Neighbour initially told police that the girl was "up for it" and a willing participant but later changed his story.
Police also found pornography related to rape on his computer.
Defense lawyer Mark Sheward said Sims-Neighbour had no previous convictions and that he had little memory of the attack, suffering from depression and having consumed a lot of alcohol that night.
He also mentioned that Sims-Neighbour planned to leave the city to prevent the victim from seeing him again.
He pleaded guilty to two charges of rape.
Judge Michael Cullum described the 90-minute attack as "an extraordinary length of time for a young woman to undergo a violent sexual ordeal," emphasizing the distress caused.
The judge noted Sims-Neighbour's feelings of guilt, evident from his suicide attempt.
Sims-Neighbour was sentenced to five years in prison for each charge, to run concurrently.
