Jail for man who raped girl, 16, in city 15 years ago
A 33-year-old man from Cambridgeshire has been jailed for six and a half years for raping a teenager at an address in Portsmouth nearly 15 years ago.
Malachi Smith, of Humbrills Close, in Huntingdon, was found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl at an address in the city in late 2009.
Smith was in his late teens at the time of the offence.
After pleading not guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court on August 29, 2023, Smith appeared again at the court on Wednesday, March 6, where a jury found him unanimously guilty. He was then sentenced immediately to six and a half years’ imprisonment and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.
The judge said that while he took into account Smith’s age at the time of the offence when considering the sentencing, it also reflected the “severe psychological harm” he had inflicted on the victim, which had affected her “for 14 years”.
DS Samantha Brown said: “The victim in this case, now a grown woman, has lived with the memory of this awful assault for over a decade. I’m pleased we can give her the outcome the case deserved and finally some closure. I’d like to commend her bravery for coming forward and I hope this case encourages others to speak out and seek support.
“We take all allegations of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously and have specially-trained teams that can investigate these kinds of offences and provide support to victims. If you have experienced these kinds of offences, it is our promise to you that you will be heard and listened to, and your report will be believed.
“We are determined to put victims first and relentlessly pursue offenders.
“We want to encourage anyone who has been affected by sexual assault to contact police on 101, where you can speak to an officer in confidence. We recognise that not everyone has the confidence to talk to police about what they have experienced. Please be reassured that there are other services available that can offer you specialist support to help you deal with the impact of abuse.”
We take all allegations of rape and sexual assault seriously