Man jailed after he carried woman to Portsmouth city centre car park and 'violently raped her'

A man from Portsmouth has been jailed for seven years after he carried a woman to a city centre car park and violently raped her.

Daniel Booth, who was 18 at the time he committed the offence, targeted his victim on June 29 2021 in Hippodrome House Car Park.

The jury was told how the victim, a woman in her 20s, was located by members of the public in the car park, with no recollection of what had happened to her.

An examination of Booth’s mobile phone by police showed that prior to his arrest, he had been doing web searches on Google about rape including how someone can be convicted of rape and what evidence police need to charge someone with rape.

He also visited the CPS website on how the Crown Prosecution Service prosecute rape.

Sentencing Booth, Judge Timothy Mousley KC commended the bravery of the victim after Booth had put her through a trial by pleading not guilty as he “did not have the courage to admit the obvious”.

Judge Mousley also commended the actions of the young man who found the victim and made sure she got to a place of safety while looking after her and ensuring she was eventually reunited with her friends.

He told Booth: “She could not have anticipated what happened to her that night and was incapable of protecting herself from you. You took complete advantage of her. You carried her to the place where you violently raped her and abandoned her, you left her in the cold and wet.”

Hampshire Police released CCTV of Booth walking through the car park.

Operation Amberstone Detective Constable Nick Sandford-Smith, who led the investigation, said: “This was a truly terrible and predatory crime that has understandably had a significant impact on the woman involved.

“The courage it takes to come forward and speak to us about incidents of this nature should not be underestimated and I would like to take this opportunity to commend this young woman for the bravery she has shown.

“The fact that Booth is now in prison is testament to her courage in speaking out and assisting police with this investigation.

“The Operation Amberstone team works tirelessly to target perpetrators of rape, and provide specialist support to survivors who have been affected.

“I hope that this sentence goes some way to helping the woman involved gain closure and begin to move forward with her life. We want our communities, and survivors of abuse, to know that we stand with them and will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”

In addition to his prison sentence, of which he will be required to serve at least two thirds in custody, he will also have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.