Kentish Express Ashford & District
My two attackers acted like primal monsters
Student describes terrifying ordeal after evening out
A sex fiend who stalked and attacked a student walking alone in Canterbury has been jailed for nine years.
Samuel King, 25, spotted his drunken victim as she made her way through the city centre in the early hours of the morning.
As she walked through the dimly lit Dane John Gardens, he struck – knocking her to the ground and tearing off her underwear.
But the brave woman began screaming and she was heard by other students out celebrating getting their degrees, who then raced to her aid.
King, who lives in a tent in Ashford, claimed he was only trying to rob her – but the jury at Canterbury Crown Court rejected this and convicted him of attempted rape.
King had been out that night with his 32-year-old cousin Damien Davey, who also lives in a tent in Ashford, and the two were caught on CCTV stalking the woman.
The jury found Davey not guilty of attempted rape but guilty of attempted robbery and possessing a knife.
Davey, who was on licence from prison at the time, was jailed for seven years.
Passing sentence, Judge Norton said: “You two hatched a plan to rob a young, drunk, vulnerable girl. You then followed her through the town.
“You used a degree of violence which was way more than was necessary. Your victim was both physically and psychologically injured.”
The victim, in her impact statement, said the attack had “severely changed my life”.
She told police: “They had no regard for me or my well-being – they were like primal monsters, causing serious unnecessary injuries to get whatever their goal was, which still isn’t clear to me.
“I don’t think I will ever know the truth, and I think I would rather not. I only want justice but as much as I try to deny it, I have to admit this has severely changed my life.”
She revealed earlier in her victim statement that the stress of the case had caused “me to adjust my life, the way I think, the way I act, the relationship between my friends”.
John Fitzgerald, for King, said the sex assault happened “in the heat of the moment” and only lasted 25 seconds.
He continued: “Although it must have seemed like a lifetime to her and he realises how disgraceful his behaviour was. He is genuinely sorry for what he did.”
The victim had been drinking in a city bar in May this year and was on her way home when she was spotted by the cousins, who had been drinking and smoking cannabis.
A video of her police interview was played to the jury in which she said she could remember little after leaving the bar. She told officers: “I don’t remember much about the incident, (other than) suddenly realising I was in a lot of trouble, ‘cos I was pinned down and I couldn’t move.”
Simon Taylor, prosecuting, told how her head was banged on the ground until she lost consciousness.
The victim added: “I just remember thinking: ‘You have to scream’. I was struggling to breathe properly. I don’t know if that was because he was banging my head but I was struggling to inhale.
“I think I remember thinking ‘Oh my God, he’s going to try and have sex with me’. I remember thinking: ‘No, no, no, I really don’t want this to happen’,” she added.
The woman, who suffered a black eye and cuts and bruises to her head, lips and elbow, woke up to find Rose Trustmann, a passerby, offering her help. The cousins were seen running away and one of the other students chased after Davey and confronted him.
He asked him what was going on. Davey, who was walking behind King, claimed: “I just saw that man attack some girl earlier on in the park.”
Davey, who was seen holding a knife, was acquitted of attempted rape but convicted of attempted robbery and possessing a knife.
A charge of indecent assault was left on file after the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict. He had denied all the charges.
King, who has worked as a chef in West London, Ashford and Dover, had admitted indecent assault and attempted robbery but denied attempted rape.