RAPIST STUDENT FACES JAIL
ASTUDENT raped a vulnerable woman after she passed out on a sofa following an evening of drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis.
Benjamin Williams Stacey, 24, raped the woman at his student home in Cardiff while the victim was asleep after falling ill as a result of intoxication.
The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) student denied the offences but was linked forensically to the victim after fluid found on her underwear was found to be a match with his DNA.
He was found guilty of rape at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday and was told by Recorder Paul Hopkins QC he should expect a significant prison sentence.
The judge added: “You have been found guilty by the jury of an extremely serious offence. You violated this young woman and the sentence that will follow from your behaviour will be one of immediate custody and it will be substantial.”
A trial heard that Williams Stacey, of Cyfartha Street, Roath, and the victim, who has lifelong anonymity, were among a group who attended a night out in Cardiff city centre but ended up back at the defendant’s Cathays student home where a number of people smoked cannabis in the garden.
During the course of the trial, the victim gave evidence via video link and said she had drunk seven to eight pints of lager throughout the night and smoked cannabis in the garden. She described herself as “extremely drunk”.
At one stage she believes she was physically sick, and she subsequently passed out on a sofa in the livingroom.
Later in the evening, the victim remembered waking up to someone moving her legs apart and pushing her underwear to one side before she was raped.
Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said the episode lasted for five minutes in which the defendant remained silent, and left the room immediately afterwards. He said the room was dark so the victim was unable to see who it was.
Describing the alleged incident in her video interview, the complainant said she “just lay still” during the incident.
When asked the reason why she didn’t say anything during the incident, she said: “I was scared, I just wanted it to be over.”
She later called a friend, after the incident, and told her: “I think I’ve been raped.” She called the police the next day and was forensically examined.
The next morning, Williams Stacey attended lectures at RWCMD but was made aware a rape allegation had been made when he returned home.
He was arrested later that day, was examined and had DNA swabs taken. A positive match was later found with fluid found on the victim’s underwear.
Giving evidence, Williams Stacey told the court he was “as bad as he had ever been” in terms of intoxication.
He said his last memory of the night was sitting in a leather armchair in the living-room while the victim was sleeping on the sofa, but the next recollection he had was waking up in his bedroom the following morning.
In his police interview, Williams Stacey was asked if he was the man who moved the complainant’s legs and had sexual intercourse with her. He said he didn’t know.
When asked if he had sexual intercourse with her or any sexual contact he said he didn’t know. When asked if the complainant was in any condition to give consent to sexual intercourse he said she was not.
Following the guilty verdict, defence barrister Kevin Seal asked for sentencing to be adjourned for a pre-sentence report and made an application for the defendant to be remanded on bail.
Bail was rejected by Recorder Hopkins, who remanded Williams Stacey in custody until his sentencing hearing on October 2.