SAM ASHLEY SENTENCED IN PORTSMOUTH FOR SERIOUS SEXUAL OFFENCES

Standing in the dock at Portsmouth Crown Court, 30-year-old Sam Ashley was visibly emotional, nearly brought to tears as the judge announced his sentence today. Police have expressed approval of the punishment, describing Ashley, who used GHB and diazepam to drug his victims, as a 'dangerous, calculating, and manipulative' individual. Ashley, an insurance worker, had previously told some victims he was suffering from terminal colon cancer in an attempt to elicit sympathy. Last month, he was convicted of four charges of rape, two counts of attempted rape, and four counts of administering a substance with intent.

Prosecutor Robert Bryan detailed that Ashley’s administration of the date-rape drug GHB to a man with HIV ‘could have killed’ him due to the dangerous interaction with the victim’s medication. Ashley had used various methods, including spiking one victim’s tea with drugs, giving diazepam to another, and even driving another victim to his former home in North End to carry out a rape.

Under the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, Ashley is now prohibited from using the Grindr app or engaging in any sexual relationship without informing police. Ashley, of Lynton Gardens in Fareham, appeared in court from the cells, having breached his bail conditions following the trial.

Addressing Ashley, Judge David Melville QC stated: ‘You made every step which was needed, so far as you saw it, in your warped way of thinking, to overcome their reluctance and get close when their defenses were down. There’s a pattern of behavior here – it’s dangerous in my judgment. You managed to obtain drugs, used them when you wanted on innocent victims, one of whom was already seriously ill. You took serious advantage of them, and this was repeated on four occasions, all facilitated through Grindr, a platform used to meet people in the gay community. And if met with reluctance, you devised a final, manipulative tactic – claiming you were dying of cancer.’ The judge emphasized that ‘this was calculated behavior, it was deliberate and awful.’

Ashley was convicted of multiple serious offences, including drugging and twice raping a university student met through Grindr, as well as raping and attempting to drug a man with HIV, and drugging a man who awoke to find Ashley’s collection of sex toys on the bed. Additionally, he was found guilty of raping and drugging a man he met for a threesome after the man took what he believed was paracetamol for a headache.

Outside court, Detective Inspector James Stewart from Hampshire police described Ashley as a ‘dangerous, calculating and manipulative individual who committed some of the most serious offences against multiple victims.’ Stewart continued: ‘Today he has been jailed for a significant period of time, and the community is a safer place.’

The trial revealed that Ashley had drugged and raped men he met on Grindr over a six-month period in 2016, having previously drugged another man earlier that year.

William Mousley QC, defending Ashley, explained that ‘triggers’ for his client’s offending included the breakup of a civil partnership, workplace bullying, an anxiety diagnosis, and ‘undoubtedly significant events from his childhood that had never been addressed.’ Mousley revealed that Ashley had written a letter to police discussing these issues. He argued that ‘the combination of these factors and the stresses they caused may well explain his behavior during that period in 2016,’ and added, ‘we believe these factors are unlikely to recur in his life now.’ Mousley also stated that ‘at 30 years old, although he will serve a lengthy prison sentence, he is someone who could be rehabilitated,’ and that ‘at the appropriate time, he should be given the opportunity to rebuild the life that has been shattered by his actions.’

Initially, Ashley appeared relieved when the judge declined to impose a life sentence but was visibly close to tears as the court sentenced him to 23 years in prison.