This is rape! Not banter
Judge blasts attacker who targeted his friend’s lover to ‘get one over on him’
A FEMALE judge has condemned men who view rape as ‘banter’ after jailing a shop worker for having sex with a woman while she slept as part of a callous prank.
Daniel Dennis, 27, had sneaked into his friend Craig Flash’s hotel bed as he slept next to a 23-yearold woman after a night out and raped her, a court heard.
Judge Hilary Manley said he had done so simply to ‘get one over’ on his friend after Mr Flash had walked in on him previously while he was intimate with a different woman.
Manchester Crown Court heard how the friends had a history of socalled ‘cock-blocking’ each other – a slang term for someone who jokingly tries to stop another from having sex. Judge Manley said: ‘It’s sometimes said by men who behave like you and your friends did that night, that it’s just banter and being lads together, but it reflects a deeper and more worrying attitude towards women.’
Jailing him for six years, she said his antics were shameful, reminding him: ‘You are not 16, you are in your 20s.’ She said: ‘You displayed a blatant disregard for women with little regards for their feelings. The fact you engaged in behaviour that you describe as cock-blocking to disturb your friend in his private business with this woman. ‘Your response was, “He did it to me and the girl left”.’
On September 6, 2014, Dennis had gone back to a four- star apartment hotel in Manchester with seven friends after travelling from Wolverhampton to celebrate a friend’s 25th birthday.
While there, it was alleged that Dennis, who had a girlfriend at the time, appeared in the room after the victim had consented to sex with Mr Flash and fallen asleep. Dennis then went into the bathroom with Mr Flash to tell him he wanted to sleep with the 23-year-old woman.
During the trial, Dennis claimed he was trying to get his own back on Mr Flash, who had on an earlier occasion stopped him from having sex with a different woman by walking in on them.
Judge Manley said Dennis had waited for his friend to get back into bed and nod off before raping the ‘vulnerable’ woman as ‘she slept in bed next to the man she hoped would protect her’.
She said: ‘You specifically targeted her whether due to your need for sex or to get one over on your friend. She woke up and screamed at you to get off her. It must have been a traumatic, frightening and embarrassing experience for her.’
The judge added: ‘ She no longer feels safe, she feels vulnerable and suffers mood swings ... She had nightmares and suffers financially.’
As Dennis, who denied rape, was sentenced, his sister Rachel flew into a rage and accused the judge of being ‘racist’.
In a victim impact statement, the victim said: ‘If that night had never happened I would still be my bubbly self. I will not let him ruin my life but that’s easier said than done.’