Description
Daniel Mortimer plied 15-year-old girl with drink before raping her - then tried to strangle her and threatened her into staying at his accommodation, saying he had a gun.
A St Judes man described as "cunning" has been handed a determinate sentence of 20 years after he raped and imprisoned a vulnerable 15-year-girl he had been grooming and plying with alcohol.
A victim impact statement from the girl - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was read out by prosecutor Heather Hope at Plymouth Crown Court where Daniel Mortimer was sentenced. Mortimer was found guilty by unanimous verdict following a trial where the jury heard how had targeted the girl, plied her with alcohol, got her back to his home where gave her more alcohol and while she was in an unconscious state raped her.
When she later came around, the 39-year-old threatened her to stay, claiming that he had a gun.
The court heard how in 2002 Mortimer - also known as Norsworthy - was made subject of a hospital order following his conviction for the offence of arson. He then spent the next 17 years in various mental health institutions where he was diagnosed withy antisocial disorder and/or borderline learning disability. His records, from his various mental health institutions, noted incidents of violence and offences including arson - although it was observed by the courts that he was never prosecuted for these offences.
However, in March 2020, he was released back into wider society and by April 2021, he was living in supported living accommodation in the city. The court heard that he was abusing alcohol and class A drugs and leading what Mr Recorder Donald Tait described as a "aimless existence on the streets of Plymouth".
The court heard that Mortimer began to befriend groups of teenage girls in Plymouth city centre and would spend a "significant amount of money" buying alcohol for the girls, knowing full well they were under the age of 16.
Mortimer had, shortly before the rape in April 2021, even lured three underage girls back to his accommodation on the promise of giving them alcohol. Fortunately, on that occasion, a support worker at the property spotted what was going on and ejected the girls from the premises.
The following day he was back in Plymouth city centre, once again, targeting young women - including his victim who was considered to be a "troubled 15-year-old". During the trial her mother had explained her daughter was autistic, had mild learning difficulties and ADHD and suffered from depression and anxiety. As a result of her many issues she developed a significant alcohol dependency.
Recorder Tait said all these issues would have been "obvious" to Mortimer, but it was clear from the evidence presented that he "deliberately targeted" the youngster, again using alcohol to lure her to his accommodation. The jury heard that even before she got there she was already "severely inebriated" and Mortimer arranged for a taxi to take her to his address - lying to the taxi operator saying she was his sister.
The court was told that during that day there were a number of Snapchat messages passing between Mortimer and the girl and on her arrival they went up to her room where he plied her with even more alcohol to the point where she was was, to all intents and purposes, unconscious.
Mortimer then raped the girl and kept her in his room against her will. He told her she was not going anywhere and she was not allowed to leave. At one point, he attempted to strangle her and told her that he had a gun on the premises.
A few hours later, Mortimer lied to a visitor to the property looking for the girl - who had been reported missing by this stage - saying the young woman in his bed was his girlfriend.
At around 6am the girl work up with no recollection of what happened to her. She was able to pursuade Mortimer to go outside to smoke a cigarette whereupon she "ran for her life", said Recorder Tait.
She messaged and then phoned her mother at 6.43am and in hysterical state said a man was chasing her. Her mother called police and went on to trace her daughter using a phone-finding app.
On April 9, Mortimer was arrested at his address and was found to be in possession of heroin and cannabis. Recorder Tait said that while Mortimer was in custody he "embarked in a series of conflicting accounts about what happened".
Recorder Tait noted that Mortimer's "bizarre behaviour" continued through the interview process and during the court trial, with him putting forward three different defence statements - all inconsistent with one another - and claimed his DNA found in the girl's underpants was not his and that the girl had never been in his room despite her giving a detailed description of the property.
The court was told that the matter was aggravated because while he was on bail for the rape allegation, he went on to commit a further offence. He committed a sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl on August 26, 2021 in Beaumont Park.
The matter went to trial because Mortimer denied the offence. The jury heard how in that instance, Mortimer was smoking a joint and, after following the teen into the park, told the girl he could get her cannabis. The teenager said that Mortimer put his arm around her for about four seconds and then touched her inner thigh.
At his sentencing, the court was told by the judge that the incident had had "a very grave effect on her" and on one occasion not long after the incident "she tried to harm herself by consuming a bottle of bleach". He was jailed for 26 weeks for that offence and was arrested again for the rape on the day of his release from prison.
In a victim impact statement, read out by prosecutor Heather Hope at today's hearing, it was revealed that the girl said she had been left psychologically, mentally and physically scarred by the rape. She wrote how she felt "violated", "alone and scared" and horrified how Mortimer had had "access to my body without me being aware of it". She admitted she had begun self-harm with razor blades, and drinking heavily to block out the memory of the rape.
She wrote how she now cannot even stand the thought of someone touching her and flinches when people are near her. Certain worlds which were used during the incident are now triggers which causes her flashbacks and feelings of being overwhelmed. She explained she now suffered night terrors and was taking medication to try and combat it.
She also revealed how she had made "physical changes" to her appearance "for fear of being recognised" by Mortimer and was "very concerned" that he would try to contact her. She wrote how relationships with others have been affected and she finds it hard to trust people, adding that she "cannot be along with men". She explained how she now avoided certain areas of the city centre and cannot go anywhere near where he lived.
She added that she had to undergo a "intrusive physical examination" and did not know if she was going to be left pregnant. She wrote how she revisited the incident "every day and I hope that one day it will stop".
In mitigation, his advocate Katie Churcher said Mortimer had suffered abuse during his childhood and had been in institutions from a young man through to adulthood. She confirmed the offences took place not long after he was released from these institutions. However, whilst in custody he had engaged in a number of positive programs in prison, become an "enhanced" prisoner with an extra level of responsibility, securing jobs in the servery and in the prison gym.
Mr Recorder Tait told Mortimer he had read two detailed reports - one, a pre-sentence report from an experience probation officer and the other a report from forensic consultant psychiatrist Dr Christine Brown. He said Dr Brown noted that Mortimer had never been diagnosed with a mental disorder at any time and that his ability to stand trial had never been called into question.
The court was told that Dr Brown had concluded that Mortimer "knows what he is doing, and he knows when what he is doing is wrong". She went on to state that "there are no further mental health interventions or treatment that will reduce [his] risk of harm to others".
The probation report accepted that Mortimer had a "lower than average IQ" but he was also considered to have "a degree of cunning and can be manipulative". The probation officer stated that "ultimately" it was perceived that Mortimer would "very likely to offend again, regardless of the consequences to him", adding ominously that the 39-year-old poses a "high risk of harm - mostly likely to teenage girls".
The probation officer's report concluded "I have no hesitation in stating that [Mortimer] would pose a significant risk of causing serious harm", by carrying out "further specified offences whose most likely victims would be teenage girls."
Mortimer was found guilty on charges of rape, false imprisonment, meeting a child after sexual grooming, possessing a controlled drug of Class A and possessing of a controlled drug Class B.
Mr Recorder Tait told Mortimer that he had, "in effect abducted" the girl and detained her "for a long period of time". He said that there was "no shadow of doubt that [the victim] was a particularly vulnerable individual - you knew that and took advantage of that knowledge".
He told Mortimer: "Without hesitation, I consider that you pose a significant risk of serious harm from further specified offences committed by you."
As a result Mr Recorder Tait said he would impose an extended determinate sentence of 20 years - of which 15 years would be custodial and an extended licence of five years. He ordered Mortimer to be put on the Sex Offenders Register for life and be subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.
He confirmed that at the two-thirds point of the custodial sentence Mortimer's case would be referred to the parole board for consideration as to whether he was safe to be released, but added "it doesn't mean you will be".
Following the sentencing, Det Insp Darren Roach from Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The impact of these crimes will have a lasting effect on the victim and her family. I hope that the sentence passed today offers some reassurance and that a degree of comfort can be taken in knowing that this dangerous offender has been brought to justice.
"The victim, witnesses and families have shown great courage through the course of the investigation and court trial. It is their support and willingness to stand up against this dangerous offender that enabled Officers to secure the evidence for a successful prosecution.
"I would like to recognise the skill and determination of the investigation team and specialist Engagement Officers. Working alongside colleagues from the CPS and partner agencies, such as First Light and Plymouth SARC, has ensured that the victim has been supported both before and during the trial process.
"The result of this joint partnership working is evident today with a significant custodial sentence imposed and with the jury delivering guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment."