A man has been jailed for 15 years for raping a “vulnerable and lonely” woman in a city center as she celebrated her birthday on a night out.
Liam Stimpson isolated the woman under the pretense of buying food for her and attacked her under an isolated railway bridge in Cardiff in the early hours of December 27th last year.
The woman was homeless, local media reported.
The attack continued even when she managed to escape while screaming for help.
Detective Inspector Katherine Barry, South Wales Police said Stimpson was a “sadistic predator” who carried out a “heinous attack.”
Stimpson inflicted “really serious facial injuries, he raped her, he threatened her, he intimidated her, he humiliated her,” she said.
“The victim’s condition was such that she had difficulty reporting to us at the beginning of the investigation,” she said.
“We rely heavily on members of the public who intervened and who, in my opinion, probably saved her life, who were able to provide more information about her movement.”
Stimpson was sentenced on Monday at Cardiff Crown Court after being convicted of two counts of rape and one count of causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent on Thursday.
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Detective Inspector Barry said footage of the attack – on CCTV and filmed on a mobile phone – was “some of the most harrowing” she had witnessed in her 21-year career in policing.
“Strange attacks like these are extremely uncommon in Cardiff, but in Liam Stimpson we had a dangerous individual,” she said.
“The level of violence he used and the degradation of the victim was horrific. He is an absolute danger to women.
“We would like to thank the witnesses who came forward as a result of the press appeal for information and those who bravely gave evidence.
“We would also like to pay tribute to the victim support officer who has been an invaluable support to the victim and the investigation.”
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