Locations
Wallace Gardens, Gateshead, Tyne And Wear, NE9
Description
A Good Samaritan was subjected to a terrifying sex attack after offering to put her attacker up for the night when he got locked out.
Andrew Kerr repaid the woman's kindness in offering him shelter after he lost his key by trying to rape her in her own home.
The victim said her traumatic ordeal changed her from a "happy person" to someone who is constantly on edge and has flashbacks about what happened to her.
Bravely reading her impact statement to Newcastle Crown Court herself, the woman said: "I suffer recurring nightmares.
"I still sometimes wake up and feel he's in bed, which can be terrifying.
"It's hard to get the image out of my head.
"I've become untrusting about people around me.
"I am worried people have ulterior motives for befriending me."
Kerr, 26, of Wallace Gardens, Gateshead, denied attempted rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault during a trial in which the victim gave evidence against him, but was found guilty of all charges
Jailing him for seven years, Judge Tim Gittins said the victim was "acting as a Good Samaritan" when she took him in and had made it clear she was offering shelter but nothing else.
Judge Gittins said Kerr made a "determined attempt" to rape the woman and added: "She was distressed and understandably fearful of causing you to lose your temper."
The court heard Kerr claimed he had "misread signals" and claimed the woman had consented to what happened.
But the judge told him: "What you did that night was so wrong and so against her wishes from the very outset."
Annelise Haugstad, defending, said Kerr's behaviour was "impulsive" and added: "He makes an apology in the clearest terms for making her feel the way that she felt.
"He will never find himself before the courts again."
Detective Constable Sean Leavey led the investigation for Northumbria Police and praised the bravery of the victim following the sentence.
He said: "The victim's strength has been unwavering throughout and despite the further trauma of a trial, she has stood strong and today she is able to walk away with justice on her side.
"Kerr clearly didn't see anything wrong with his actions but the courts have sent a clear message today that everything he did that night was wrong and now he is behind bars where he belongs.
"Sadly, we do hear of victims being assaulted in this way but so many don't come forward and report it. No one should suffer in silence and I'd urge anyone who has felt this way or has experienced this behaviour to please come forward and report it to police."