Man (30) who raped sleeping woman after house-warming party jailed for 22 months

A MAN who raped a sleeping woman in his home was jailed for over 22 months yesterday.

Craigavon Crown Court heard that 30-year-old Jamie Anderson, who was ordered to spend the same period under supervised licence conditions, initially sexually assaulted his victim and was told at that stage “she was not consenting to any sexual activity”.

The 25-year-old woman went back to sleep but was awoken later by Anderson, who raped her in the early hours of November 19, 2017.

At an earlier hearing, the defendant, of Avenue Road in Lurgan, admitted two charges of sexual assault by penetration and a count of rape in that he had sexual intercourse with his victim to which “he did not reasonably believe that she so consented”.

Jailing Anderson and imposing a five-year sexual offences prevention order (Sopo), Judge Patrick Lynch QC told him that without the guilty pleas, he would have had a longer term.

The judge outlined how the defendant and the woman had been at a house-warming party, adding that while the victim was “not sober, she was not drunk”.

She left to go home but had an argument with her mother so she left and met Anderson, whom she had known for a number of years.

She asked him to phone a taxi, but he suggested going to his house and getting a taxi from there.

When they arrived, she began drinking Jack Daniels and cocaine was taken by the defendant, said the judge.

Judge Lynch said there was an “agreed arrangement” that she should take his bed, but a short time later she was awakened by Anderson “sexually assaulting her”.

“She pulled away from him and made it clear she was not consenting to any sexual activity,” said the judge, but he told the court that despite those protests, she was woken again and this time Anderson was raping her.

As well as the jail sentence and Sopo, the judge ordered the defendant to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.