Man preyed on woman, took keys and raped her
A SEXUAL predator who targeted vulnerable females in a coastal resort has been jailed.
Rapist Gareth Dilwyn Druce, 33, prowled the streets of Colwyn Bay, Conwy, in search of victims.
In 2022, CCTV images showed Druce, from Gwynedd, observing and following lone women. He spotted one woman, who had been drinking and was struggling to walk home, being helped by a man.
As the man was struggling to keep her on her feet, Druce saw his opportunity to offer his help, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Once at her home, Druce pocketed the woman’s keys.
A short while later, Druce was seen returning to the victim’s property to carry out his attack.
Druce, of Church Street, Blaenau Ffestiniog, was yesterday found guilty of rape following a trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Earlier, he had pleaded guilty to another sexual assault, which took place in 2021. Both victims were unknown to Druce who, according to the police, “preyed on their vulnerabilities in planned and targeted sexual attacks on strangers”.
He was jailed for 12 years and eight months for both matters. Druce will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely and has been issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He also received two indefinite restraining orders. In addition to his custodial sentence, he was issued with an extended period on licence of four years. Ceri Ellis-Jones, of the CPS, said of the rape: “There could be no suggestion that the victim would have been in any position to give her consent to sexual activity. The defendant deliberately targeted the victim, who was vulnerable, and under the pretence of helping her, was able to enter her property.”