Dating site serial rapist sentenced for attacks on five more women
Jason Lawrance is a former Hinckley businessman
A SERIAL rapist who was jailed in 2016 for attacks on seven women he met through a dating website has been sentenced for sexual assaults on a further five victims.
Jason Lawrance waged “a campaign of rape” against the 12 women he approached through Match.com or its partner company, Dating Direct, between 2009 and 2014, a judge at Nottingham Crown Court told him on Thursday.
Lawrance committed crimes in Leicestershire, Rutland, Derbyshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire between 2009 and 2014. Some of the women were attacked in Lawrance’s car or van, with one being pushed on a double bed in the back of his van after taking a drive to Bradgate Park, in January 2014.
Another woman had a belt wrapped around her neck in Bluebell Woods in Dingley Dell, Market Harborough, shortly after he joined Match.com in 2009.
One woman had invited him round for a coffee and despite her telling him “No, I don’t want this”, he retorted with the words: “Shut up... it’s going to happen anyway.”
Also, he told one of his victims he’d had a vasectomy, so she agreed to have sex with him on two occasions in the belief there was no risk of pregnancy.
He later sent her a text message which read: “I have a confession. I’m still fertile. Sorry.”
The woman became pregnant despite taking emergency contraception and later had an abortion.
This deception resulted in a rape conviction which Lawrance has said he intends to appeal against.
In 2016, the former Hinckley businessman was found guilty of crimes against seven women. He was jailed for life and told he would serve a minimum of 12-and-a-half years before he would be eligible for parole.
However, as a result of publicity around that case, five further victims contacted police to make similar allegations.
Lawrance, 54, was found guilty of those offences earlier this year after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
At the same court this week, he was given a life sentence for those crimes and told the minimum term he must serve would be increased by two-and-a-half years.
Thursday’s sentence means he will serve a minimum of 15 years.
Extending the former prison term, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker told him: “I have had the benefit of reading the sentencing remarks from the earlier hearing in 2016, from which it is apparent you were sentenced for what was in effect a campaign of rape and other sexual offences, committed against women who met you over a dating website known as Match.com.
“Those women were mature, intelligent individuals looking for companionship and intimacy, whilst you were looking for women who you could and did overpower for your own sexual gratification.
“Following your conviction I acceded to an application to adjourn the sentencing, in order the court could be furnished with a pre-sentence report.
“The court now has that report... which makes for both disturbing and depressing reading.
“Essentially you continue to maintain your denial of these offences, and in reality exhibit a lack of any significant insight into the very serious detrimental effect these offences have had upon your victims.”
In victim impact statements read to the court by the prosecution, some of the women described how they felt after the attacks, with many saying they felt “sick”, “humiliated” and “embarrassed”.
Leicestershire Police have said a new investigation team was created in January to investigate the new allegations. Their inquiries led to him being charged with seven offences. Several months later he was charged with two further offences of rape. His trial took place at Nottingham Crown Court in July and he was found guilty of five counts of rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration in relation to five women. He was acquitted of two charges of rape.
Detective Sergeant Rachael North, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “As a result of the publicity surrounding his previous conviction, more victims came forward, and we have worked tirelessly to gather evidence to be able to put these further charges to him and have him face the courts once again.
“Praise must be given to these victims who attended, and those who gave evidence at, court. I hope this case acts as reassurance to the public that just because a defendant may already be in prison, we are committed to taking all reports of sexual assault seriously.”
In a statement, a Match.com spokeswoman said: “At Match, member safety is our primary priority.
“We were appalled by the terrible acts committed by Jason Lawrance and commend the individuals for their courage in reporting these to the authorities.
“We have supported the police throughout both investigations and welcomed the jury’s verdict, as we now welcome the judge’s delivery of this fit and proper punishment. Match has a zero-tolerance policy for reports of serious offences and we encourage anyone who has felt exposed to unsafe behaviour, whether through our services or anywhere else, to speak to the police.
“The dating industry faces similar challenges to those that affect society as a whole. Sadly, there is a tiny minority of people who set out to harm others and the methods of doing so are always evolving.”