Northern Ireland

Lurgan man who raped sleeping woman is jailed for 22 and a half months

Jamie Anderson (30) was jailed for 22 and a half months
Jamie Anderson (30) was jailed for 22 and a half months Jamie Anderson (30) was jailed for 22 and a half months

A Lurgan man who raped a sleeping woman in his home has been jailed for 22 and a half months.

Craigavon Crown Court heard that 30-year-old Jamie Anderson, who was ordered to spend the same period under supervised license conditions, initially sexually assaulted his victim and was told at that stage “she was not consenting to any sexual activity”.

The 25-year-old woman went back to sleep but was awoken later by Anderson when he raped her in the early hours of November 19 2017.

At an earlier hearing Anderson, from Avenue Road in Lurgan, admitted two charges of sexual assault and a count of rape in that he had sexual intercourse with his victim to which “he did not reasonably believe that she so consented”.

Jailing him and imposing a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, Judge Patrick Lynch said that without the guilty pleas, he would have faced a sentence of five years.

He outlined how Anderson and the woman had been at a house warming party, adding that while the victim was “not sober, she was not drunk”.

She left to go home but had an argument with her mother and it was then that she encountered Anderson, whom she had known for a number of years.

“She asked him to phone a taxi but he suggested going to his house and getting a taxi from there. When they went round there she began drinking Jack Daniels and cocaine was taken by the defendant,” said the judge.

The two sat chatting for a while and at 5am, she asked him to get a taxi but he suggested she wouldn’t get one at that time and asked if she wanted to stay.

Judge Lynch said there was an “agreed arrangement” that she should take his bed but she was awakened by Anderson sexually assaulting her.

“She pulled away from him and made it clear she was not consenting to any sexual activity,” said the judge.

Despite those protests, she was woken again and this time Anderson was raping her.

She ran from the house and Anderson followed her but she shouted at him “you know what you did”.

Victim impact reports said the attack had “ badly affected her confidence”, although Anderson's guilty pleas had saved her the ordeal of having to testify in court.

Reports on Anderson assessed him as not posing a risk to others in the future.

Judge Lynch said the misuse of illegal drugs played a part in the case as Anderson was in a “euphoric state and was unable to control himself”.

He added that one aggravating feature was that the victim was vulnerable and was in the home of the defendant and had every right to expect protection.

As well as the jail sentence and SOPO, the judge ordered Anderson to sign the police sex offenders register for life.