Man raped five women after spiking their drinks

Tom Wade-Allison was found guilty of nine counts of rape.
Tom Wade-Allison has been jailed for 24 years. Credit: Avon and Somerset Police

A sous chef who raped five women after spiking their drinks has been jailed.

Tom Wade-Allison, 25, from Martock, committed the offences in Somerset and Devon.

He has been described as "a danger to women" after making his victims drink which left them exhausted and feeling an "out of body experience" before attacking them.

He was found guilty of nine counts of rape, one of attempted rape, three of assault and one of sexual assault. He was sentenced to 24 years in prison at Exeter Crown Court on Thursday 22 April.

'A danger to women'

The court heard Wade-Allison drugged some of the young women with an unknown substance to make them vulnerable to what the judge called his "campaign of rape". 

Judge Timothy Rose said: "You remain a danger to women. You have a profoundly misogynistic view of women with your predatory sexual attention and no thought or feelings towards them. 

"You either drugged them or certainly took advantage of their disorientation and intoxication."

Tom Wade-Allison was found guilty of nine counts of rape. Credit: Nick Irving

The judge said he was "entirely sure" Wade-Allison drugged two of the victims which made them lose their consciousness and self control so he could "facilitate sexual acts on them".

The judge said he "aggressively forced himself" on to his victims who he knew did not consent.

He added: "You did what you wanted to do to them using your physical advantage over them, aggressively and roughly. You had a sense of entitlement over your victims."

One of the victims said she was strong and outgoing before the rape but told the court in a victim impact statement she felt "violated and dirty".

She said: "I was vulnerable and that situation has been greatly magnified by his actions. Coping is now a privilege and this has affected my trust in men."

She said he should never come out of jail.

Prosecutor Lee Bremridge said a common feature of the case was that the young women would become very drunk very quickly.

One victim said Wade-Allison made her a gin and tonic drink, adding: "I drank it. I just cannot really remember after that. In the morning I woke up naked next to him."

She said she was "in and out of consciousness" as he raped her. When she asked him why in a text message, he replied: "All I can do is apologise over and over again. Obviously there was some tiny part of my brain that thought it was okay."

Another victim said Wade-Allison asked her to try a new drink he had made. She said she tried to go to bed but struggled to get up the stairs as "it was just too much effort".

Police launched an investigation after one victim ended up in hospital when she blacked out with no memory of the night.

CCTV showed Wade-Allison holding her up as she stumbled along a road back to his room and once there he stripped her and sexually assaulted her. As the police made inquiries, four other young women came forward saying similar things had happened to them.

Wade-Allison was aged 20 and 21 at the time of the offences while his victims were between the ages of 17 and 20. He had no previous convictions.

Wade-Allison had denied a total of 14 sex charges and told the jury he had consensual sex.

Mitigating, Nigel Wraith, told the court Wade-Allison still denies the nine rapes, one attempted rape, three assaults by penetration and one sexual assault. 

Judge Timothy Rose said: "I am dealing with nine rapes over a 20-month period on seven different occasions against five different victims."

Wade-Allison will serve 16 years in jail before he is released on licence and will remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

The judge commended the bravery of the victims to report the offences to the police, who were also praised for their investigation.


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