Shane Truckle 42

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A MAN has been jailed for raping a woman as she slept leaving her "depressed and anxious".

Southampton Crown Court heard Shane Truckle attacked when she fell asleep on a sofa at a property.

The woman has been left having nightmares after the attack in 2017. She reported it in 2019, with a police investigation ending in December 2020.

Truckle, 41, of New Road, Netley, was on Thursday jailed for six years and nine months.

A jury previously found him guilty of one count of rape at trial in December 2022.

In a statement read out in court, his victim said: “It had been on my mind all the time”.

“I don't like to go out for a meal and if I see people that look like him then I go into a panic.

"Whenever I go out somewhere I feel I am looking for him. I have nightmares, the re-occurring dreams of what happened.”

She added that the incident has left her feeling “depressed and anxious”.

The case was delayed after a technical error when police submitted a case to the CPS. It meant the file had to be resubmitted in January 2021.

Jailing Truckle, judge Nicholas Rowland said the rape has been “hanging over [the victim’s] head for some time”.

Addressing Truckle, the judge added: “This is on the face of it a spontaneous opportunistic offence by you taking advantage of a vulnerable victim."

Truckle's family left in tears as he was led down. The defendant was described by the judge as an “otherwise a hard-working family man”.

Prosecutor Paul Fairley said Truckle has previous convictions for theft, burglary, disqualified driving and drink-driving, but no past sex offences.

Defending, Michael Mason said that he has a full-time job as a site manager overseeing shop fittings.

Following the case, Detective Sergeant Claire Grant said: “This crime has had a lasting impact on the victim, and her life.

“It takes great courage for people to come forward and speak to us about incidents of this nature, and that should never be underestimated.

"I hope this case goes to show that regardless of how long ago a rape happened, we will work tirelessly to target perpetrators and provide specialist support to survivors.

“We want our communities to know that we stand with them, and will do all in our power to bring the offenders of these horrendous crimes to justice.”

A police spokeswoman told the Echo that “due to complexities in this investigation it took time to gather sufficient evidence to charge Shane Truckle”.

She added: “As with any investigation there are multiple moving parts that mean it can take time, each investigation is unique and as such time from reporting to file submission can vary."