Woman woke to find Leeds predator raping her with his hand around her throat
A woman who met a predatory rapist in a bar later woke to find him on top of her with his hand around her throat.
Leeds Crown Court heard that the victim “likely” caught a sexually transmitted infection from Richard Ellis, who has been jailed.
Ellis, who denied the serious sexual assault from 2016, was found guilty after a recent trial.
The court heard that the victim had met Ellis in a public bar in the October of that year.
She said she only had a few drinks, but had no memory of leaving the bar. She later claimed she must have had her drink spiked.
She woke up later to find Ellis on top of her, raping her, with his hand around her throat, although he was not strangling her.
He then phoned a taxi for her and she left.
The later said she had contracted the venereal disease which Judge Neil Clark was “likely caused” by the rape.
The court heard that the woman had “suffered significantly psychologically”.
Judge Clark said a probation report found Ellis, of Broom Road, Belle Isle, posed a “high risk of serious harm”.
Indeed, the 47-year-old was convicted in February of this year of sexual assault of a woman through a car window. He was on bail for the rape charge at the time.
Mitigating, Katherine Robinson said there had been no evidence that Ellis had drugged the rape victim, but conceded he “took advantage” of her being intoxicated.
Judge Clark deemed Ellis to be a dangerous offender and handed him an extended 15-year sentence, made up of 10 years’ custody, with a five-year extended licence period.
He was put on the sex offender register for life.