Rapist and kidnapper jailed for 24 years
judge tells attacker ‘you have ruined woman’s life’
A 36-year-old Derby man who kidnapped, imprisoned and raped a woman at his home has been jailed for 24 years.
Samuel Dodsworth, who showed no emotion as his sentence was handed down at Derby Crown Court, will serve 18 years in custody before being eligible for release.
He grabbed his 52-year-old victim from the street before keeping her at his address in Grange Street, Normanton, where he raped her five times on September 3.
Judge Shaun Smith QC said of Dodsworth’s victim: “You have ruined her life. It is impossible for anybody in this court to even begin to imagine how she must feel.”
A 53-year-old Derby woman who was kidnapped, imprisoned, and brutally raped five times over three hours said she wanted to “jump off a bridge to end the nightmare”.
The victim, who was walking to work when she was grabbed off the street, said she has also considered shaving off her hair “because I felt so dirty”.
The woman, whose identity is protected by law, told how she thought she was going to die after being held hostage and sexually attacked by evil Samuel Dodsworth.
At Derby Crown Court, the 36-yearold father-of-two was jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to kidnap, false imprisonment, and five counts of rape against the total stranger.
In a victim impact statement, read to the court by prosecutor David Lee, the brave woman said: “After the incident happened I have constantly felt humiliated and dirty and the way he treated me was disgusting. I thought I was going to die in that flat.
“I keep thinking I should have fought back, picked up my handbag and whacked him in the face. I can’t get the thoughts out of my head.
“I can still see and smell him touching and kissing me. When I look outside on to the street I see him there in my mind.
“Every day I feel like I have to wash myself constantly, washing everything, myself and my clothes. I feel like burning my work uniform because that is what I was wearing when he grabbed me.
“The other day I thought about cutting my hair and shaving my hair off because I felt so dirty.
“My brother stayed overnight recently and told me in the morning he heard me shouting, ‘Get off me’ but I don’t remember doing that.
“I have thought about just jumping off a bridge to end this nightmare. I don’t let men come near me. If my brother comes to give me a hug I push him away. I think, ‘How am I going to have another relationship again now I have been raped’”
Mr Lee said the incident happened on the morning of September 3.
He said the victim had left her house at 7.45am to take her normal route to work. At 10.40am she was banging on the door of a friend saying she had been raped at a house in Grange Street.
Mr Lee said: “She walked down Grayling Street towards Arboretum Park when Samuel Dodsworth appeared in front of her.
“He grabbed her and said, ‘I won’t hurt you’ before holding a can opener to her neck.
“She thought she was being robbed and went to give him her handbag but, instead, he took her to his upstairs flat.”
Mr Lee said the woman was “frightened” as Dodsworth told her, “You are coming with me now”.
Mr Lee said that once inside the flat Dodsworth put a mop, a brush and a clothes horse against the door so the woman could not escape. He also put on music and the TV to drown out any sounds she might make to draw attention to what was happening to her.
Mr Lee said Dodsworth sat her on his settee and began undressing her, saying, “Do as I tell you”.
He said: “He then raped her for the first time, putting a condom on and telling her to ‘be quiet.’
“She was telling him to get off and he told her, ‘I am not finished with you yet, I will let you go when am ready.’
“He raped her a second time and she was saying, ‘No, no, it is hurting.’ After that rape he let her have some water while he had a Pot Noodle. She then said she needed the toilet and he followed her, raping her again. In her words, he was ‘going on and on and on.’” Mr Lee said that after that rape she asked him if she could leave to which he replied, “You will go home when I let you”.
He said Dodsworth raped the woman twice more, on the sofa again and on the floor. During those rapes she recalled “sweat pouring off him”. Mr Lee said that following the fifth rape Dodsworth fell asleep and the victim was able to escape and knock on the friend’s door. Dodsworth was arrested and, in his police interview, he said he had been “drinking heavily” the night before the kidnap and rapes but that he was not the person responsible. He showed no emotion as Judge Shaun Smith QC jailed him for 18 years with an extended licence of six years, making a total of 24 years. He will not be released until 2036 at the earliest. Judge Shaun Smith said: “You have ruined her life. It is impossible for anybody in this court to even begin to imagine how she must feel.
“I have heard the dreadful facts of this
Every day I feel like I have to wash myself constantly, washing everything, myself and my clothes. Victim
case and I have read a psychiatric report about you in which the doctor is of the opinion the offences are particularly shocking in nature. With that information, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever you will still present a significant risk of serious harm to the public even when you are released.”
Dawn Pritchard, for Dodsworth, said her client had two daughters and no previous sexual offences on his criminal record.
She said: “While this was very serious, what is not present in this case is the use of violence above the sexual violence. There is no physical assault.
“He still recalls nothing about the offence. He said that at the time of his arrest and he says it now.
“He is repulsed, shocked and ashamed that he is capable of behaving in this way.”