Army Corporal violently raped woman after night out in 'utterly savage' attack

A woman who was violently raped and assaulted by an Army Corporal said she felt ‘humiliated and degraded’ and suffered irreparable damage to her physical and mental health. 

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke at Plymouth Crown Court as 29-year-old Sam Evans was jailed for 14 years for five counts of rape, sexual assault, actual bodily harm and strangulation.

The judge said the attack was ‘utterly savage’ and ‘the stuff of nightmares.’  

Addressing the court and looking directly at Evans in the dock, the victim said she had met the offender on a night out and ended up back at his house. 

"I had been a normal, happy-go-lucky young woman," she said.

"That version of myself never came home. Nothing could have prepared me for the violent and relentless attack I was about to endure.

"I felt completely helpless and alone. Nobody came to save me and I was not strong enough to save myself. I was humiliated and degraded."

The victim told the court she thought she was going to die as Evans carried out his violent attack. 

"I thought about my family and how I would never see them again," she said.

"I did not think I would leave that room alive and wondered if my body would ever be found, as nobody knew where I was."

The victim, who was aged 30 at the time of the attack, said she suffered abdominal pain and bleeding, which exacerbated an existing bladder condition and restricted her mobility. 

She was also referred to a neurologist for a brain injury and said she has memory problems. 

"I felt like I had lost my identity and lost my faith in humanity," she said.

"At times I have felt that life is not worth living anymore."

Turning to Evans in the dock, she said: "He caused irreparable damage to my life. I can’t see a way to move forward. 

"I will always have unanswered questions as to why he did this to me. 

"Although on that night he was physically stronger than me, I have a type of strength and self respect that he could never understand."

Evans sat with his head in his hands as Judge Robert Linford sentenced him to 14 years in jail, and told him he would serve another four years on licence. 

The judge said: "This was an utterly savage attack, the stuff of nightmares.

"You punched, slapped and strangled her to the point where she was unable to breathe.

"Your life continued, for a while at least, with nothing more than a hangover. Hers was utterly devastated."

Detective Constable Lee Tucker said the victim was 'by far the bravest person I have ever met'.

'She has shown huge strength, from day one right through to today' he said. 'Her only motivation has been to stop other people going through what she went through.

'I hope today shows that if you are a victim you will be listened to, you will be believed, right through to sentencing and beyond.'