Locations
Kingswood Road, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20
Description
A man whose "appalling" crimes included raping a 14-year-old girl has been jailed.
Jay Louis Benjamin Connor, 20, of Kingswood Road, Tadworth, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with a further five years on extended licence after being found guilty of multiple sexual offences, including six counts of rape, following a six-week trial at Guildford Crown Court.
Connor was arrested on October 30 2019 in Epsom Downs car park after officers found him in his car with a young girl and noticed that he was behaving suspiciously.
The girl, who was under the age of 16, subsequently told officers that she had been raped by Connor and he was arrested and taken into custody.
Further enquiries revealed that Connor was already known to Surrey Police, who led the investigation, and was currently under investigation in relation to other allegations of sexual offences, the earliest of which dated back to 2018.
What police described as a "complex" investigation involving seven complainants coming forward to make allegations against Connor took place over a three-year period.
"Even after being arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault, Connor continued to meet further victims. With almost all the victims, Connor would make up lies about his past and his health in order to manipulate them into engaging in sexual activity with him," a police statement after his sentencing described.
Throughout the trial, Connor reportedly claimed that all victims were lying.
He was eventually found guilty of six counts of rape of a female 14 years of age or over, two counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
In addition to his sentence, the Tadworth man was given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
One of his victims, who was just 15 at the time, spoke out after he was sentenced.
"I cant trust boys/men and I cant see how I will be able to have a normal relationship as I cant bear to be physically touched and I dont know when it is okay to believe nice things that someone may say to me. I dont want to be attractive or to even look the same or similar as I did at that time. I dont ever want any man to look at me in the same way that he felt he could use me, without any respect for me as a human being," they said.
"I cant cope if I get catcalled. I crumble and have a panic attack. I just cant lead a normal life like every other teenager. I am not sure how to make you fully understand the devastating effect he has had on my life. I did survive the ordeal but the scars that remain are very deep and I need to feel safe again," they added.
Another victim, who was 14 when Connor raped her in Priory Park in Reigate, said she wanted to use her experience to help others.
"I did not expect anything like this to ever happen to me," she said, adding: "I have never felt so small and lonely, not knowing what to think or feel. The whole range of emotions I have gone through have been confusing, upsetting, unnerving and very difficult to cope with. I can now see that Jay had a plan and knew exactly what he was doing. Everyone should know that saying no, means NO. I will always have this experience with me, however I refuse to be a forever victim. I want to speak up and do whats right for myself and others."