MY DREAM HUSBAND WAS RAPIST
ACOURAGEOUS wife has told how her dream husband was in reality a rapist who overpowered and attacked her.
Kelly Penny, 36, bravely gave evidence which saw “bully” Gareth Rainbow locked up after he raped her at her flat.
She and 36-year-old Rainbow got married at a white wedding after a whirlwind romance – but his behaviour changed on the night of their marriage.
In the years to come he became abusive, culminating in a court hearing how Rainbow raped his wife at her home and told her: “It’s your duty to give me sex.”
He was handed a 16-year extended sentence for rape and sexual assault at Cardiff Crown Court.
Now Kelly has spoken out about the horrific abuse she suffered at the
hands of her husband.
Bravely waiving her right to anonymity, she said: “I made a statement to the police and Gareth was charged with rape, but then he denied everything.
“I had no choice but to give evidence, but I knew I had to do it. I just hoped the jury would believe me after all I had been through.”
The pair had known each other for years when mechanic Rainbow turned up to work on Kelly’s car.
She said: “I kept telling myself it must be fate. We’d got chatting and sparks flew and he couldn’t seem to get enough of me.”
Rainbow popped the question just six months after the couple started dating.
Kelly, of Bridgend, said: “I got a beautiful white gown and we invited 40 guests to our wedding-day celebrations and 140 in the night.”
But Rainbow’s behaviour changed after he spent the wedding day drinking – and told his new wife to “stop f ***** g whining”.
Kelly said her dream man then turned into an “aggressive bully” who launched a brutal attack on her in 2015.
Rainbow was convicted of ABH at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in July 2015 and sentenced to 21 months in prison. But when he was released Rainbow bombarded his wife with 4,000 messages over four months.
In July last year he turned up at Kelly’s flat and launched a horrific sex attack on her.
She said: “I tried to get push him off to stop but he was too strong for me. Then I passed out in shock.”
Devastated Kelly said Rainbow poured himself a vodka after the attack. But she managed to call for help when he left the room.
She said: “The police were there within minutes. They handcuffed Gareth and took him away.”
Judge Michael Fitton QC handed Rainbow a 16-year extended sentence in February this year.
He said: “You are a profoundly self-centred man who has no respect for women and who represents a real danger with any woman with whom you are in a relationship with.”
Rainbow was made to sign the sex offenders register indefinitely and given an indefinite restraining order.
Kelly said: “I am now trying to rebuild my life and it’s not easy.
“I never want to set eyes on that monster again.”