Predator lured girl to 'party' and assaulted her
Cleveland PoliceA sexual predator who lured a teenage girl to a fake party, plied her with alcohol and then assaulted her has been jailed for nine years.
Paul Evans, 56, was about 21 when he held his 16-year-old victim captive and carried out a planned and graphic sexual act upon her in Middlesbrough, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Evans, who has a history of sexual offences including against children, had denied wrongdoing but was found guilty of indecent assault, which would now be classed as rape.
Judge Timothy Stead praised the victim's "courage and dignity" for reporting Evans.
He invited the girl to a party sometime between 1989 and 1990 but when she arrived she was the only person there, Judge Stead said.
Evans gave her alcohol and possibly drugs, causing her to pass out, but when she awoke she found him forcing himself upon her in an action which would now be regarded as rape, the judge said.
He then stopped his victim from leaving for several hours until he had "finished with her", subjecting her to further degradation and humiliation, which was a "form of abduction", the judge said.
'Serious harm risk'
The ordeal had had a "profound" impact on the woman and had affected "her entire adult life", he added.
The woman told the court she had feared she was going to be killed by Evans and had been left with a whole host of mental health problems, self-destructive tendencies and an inability to trust people.
The court heard Evans, of no fixed abode, had 16 convictions for 75 offences.
They included an indecent assault in 1995 when he pretended to be a doctor to molest a woman and indecent exposure and harassment from 2009.
In 2022, Evans was convicted of multiple counts of inciting two children to engage in sexual activity, the court heard.
Judge Stead said Evans had been assessed as posing a "significant risk of serious harm" and was therefore to be classed as a "dangerous" offender.
He was ordered to serve a further year on extended licence upon his release from prison.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Stead praised the "courage and dignity" of the victim for reporting Evans and giving evidence at his trial.
"She ought to go from this court knowing that even those of us who, I'm sorry to say, are very seasoned indeed in hearing very unpleasant cases, are nevertheless moved by her courage and hope this helps her in drawing at least one line under matters," the judge said.