Man admits raping sex worker he tied up and gagged at home

A CO Down man has confessed to raping and attacking a female sex worker.

Gary Doak (48) was due to go on trial at Newry Crown Court accused of trying to kill the woman and multiple rapes.

With a jury of six men and six women sworn in, ready to hear the victim’s testimony, defence QC Charles McKay asked for some of the charges to be put to Doak again.

The defendant, from Dickson Park in Seapatrick, outside Banbridge, then entered guilty pleas to oral rape and sexual assault involving penetration.

He also admitted unlawfully and injuriously imprisoning the victim, assaulting her occasioning actual bodily harm and common assault

Following the guilty pleas, prosecuting QC John Orr asked for the remaining charges, including attempted murder and other allegations of rape and attempted rape, to be left on the books.

Previous court hearings were told that Doak paid his victim £200 to come to his home on March 9 last year.

After becoming aggressive, he tied her up with cable ties and gagged her with a sock.

He then carried her to the bedroom where, according to the Crown case, he forced her to perform sex acts and raped her before placing a plastic bag over her head.

During an unsuccessful bail application by Doak, a prosecuting lawyer described how the victim had felt she was “fighting for her life and she thought she was going to die”.

The woman was also “wondering what he was going to do with her body after he killed her”, the lawyer added.

During a struggle, a hole was torn in the bag Doak placed over her head, after which the victim managed to free herself and run to the kitchen, where she armed herself with a knife and fought with her attacker.

Doak is alleged to have told the woman that he panicked after he suffered “flashbacks from the war”.

When his house was searched after his arrest, police discovered bondage DVDs.

During an interview, the defendant told officers the encounter was consensual and that the victim had agreed to bondage-style sex.

He also claimed the woman had attacked him after becoming aggressive.

Swearing in a jury on Wednesday, Judge Gordon Kerr said that although the victim was a sex worker, it was “vital” that did not invoke any sympathy or prejudice.

Discharging the jury yesterday, he thanked them for their service.

Judge Kerr remanded the defendant back into custody and adjourned sentencing until December 13.

He also ordered victim impact and pre-sentence probation reports to be compiled.

❝ She was fighting for her life... and wondering what he would do with her body after he killed her