Victim forced into sexual act
AMAN from Runcorn has been sent down for three years for rape after forcing a young woman to perform a sex act.
Jordan Barrigan, 19, of Martin Close, Palacefields, pleaded guilty in April to the offence ahead of trial, which was due to take place in May.
Warrington Crown Court heard on Friday the incident took place when he was 18.
Karl Scholz, prosecutor, told the court the assault happened after Barrigan ignored his victim’s refusals towards his demands.
She managed to break free and told him to ‘get away’.
He later contacted her online to say ‘sorry’, then backtracked and implied the activity had been consensual.
When interviewed he maintained that his victim had been a willing party and that he had stopped when asked, then claimed someone else had written the online messages.
Judge Nicholas Wo o d wa rd , pre s i d i n g , turned down a request for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to be made against him but approved a restraining order and said the offence qualified for the sex offenders’ register. The court heard he had no previous convictions. Jeremy Rawson, defending, appealed to the judge for clemency because of his youth at the time of the offence, his previously c lean record, his guilty pleas and character references. An init i a l request from Mr Rawson for an interim assessment indicating that Barrigan could be tested for autism on the advice of a speech and language expert was dropped as there was no existing diagnosis.
Sending Barrigan down, Judge Woordward said: “You have no previous convictions, you are still very young, although you were 18 at the time.
“There’s an intermediary report in this case but there’s never been any diagnosis that you have any disorder.”
Another count of rape that Barrigan was initially charged with was asked to lie on file. ●