John Harding 30

Description

A sadistic thug viciously raped one woman in a horrific attack and tied up another woman with tape before threatening to kill her. He left one of his victims unconscious after he stamped on her head and neck.

John Harding, 30, of Newport, committed brutal attacks upon his two victims which left them fearing for their lives. The defendant has a long history of violence committed against women.

A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard the first victim was attacked by Harding who threw her to the ground and stood on her head, which caused her to scream in pain. He then dragged her along the floor and kicked and punched her to the side of her head. The defendant then grabbed her throat and put his fist to her head.

Recounting the facts of the assault Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "In an act bordering on sadistic you bent down close to her face and told her she was not scared enough. She must have been scared out of her wits."

Harding later twice raped the victim and ignored the victim's shouts for him to stop. He also used his fingers to penetrate her, which caused her "extreme pain". He then performed a sex act in a "final act of degradation", the court heard.

The second victim was just a teenager when she was assaulted by Harding who was said to have treated her with "disdain and cruelty". During the first attack he threw her to the ground, kicked and stood on her head, and strangled her until she lost consciousness.

When she came round she saw the defendant on top of her and he was hitting her chest to get her to breathe again. He then threw her to the floor a second time and kicked her. Over the next few days the victim suffered increasing swelling and bruising to her head and discovered she had broken ribs.

During the second attack upon the victim Harding took tape from a rucksack and used it to tie her up. The more she struggled the tighter the tape became. Two men passed nearby and the defendant threatened to kill the victim and the men if she screamed out. He then produced a pair of scissors and held the blade to her throat in what was described by Judge Jenkins as a "terrifying incident".

Following his arrests Harding, of Corporation Road, denied the offences but was found guilty of two counts of rape, assault by penetration, two counts of intentional strangulation, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of false imprisonment, and making threats to kill. After the trial the defendant wrote a letter to the first victim from prison, which caused her great distress.

The court heard he has seven previous convictions including assault occasioning actual bodily harm, battery, and witness intimidation committed against women. One of these occasions he put his foot on the victim's neck and threatened to "smash her head in" with a weight.

Reading out her victim personal statement via videolink the first victim said: "Every day I have to battle demons in my head which tell me to stay in bed. I have to go back to PTSD attacks. I not only see events, I feel the same emotions of being in fear for my life and feeling completely helpless."

The victim said she was suffering from flashbacks and when she leaves the house she feels overwhelmed by anxiety. She added: "I feel as though I have the word 'victim' written on my face and when I leave the house or when someone looks at me I feel they know what has happened to me. It's dehumanising....

"If you could imagine going through the worst moment of your life and having no input in how it's dealt with. That's what I go through every day... I can't put into words how this has made me feel, I don't know myself. [It has] torn scars in my soul that will last forever and even God can't heal. I have to be the final girl. If me doing this can save someone's life I'll do it 10 times over."

In mitigation Kevin Seal said his client "needs help" in custody in order to change his attitude towards women and the way he manages his problems and his life in general. He said the defendant will "need to become a completely different person" if he wished to have contact with his child.

Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "These two brave young complainants have given evidence of a most frightening experience in which each suffered at your hands with a degree of violent and sexual degradation. This is deeply concerning the more so when one considers your antecedent history...

"This simply cannot be ignored. You are a danger to young women. I will go further and say with confidence that in your company no young lady is truly safe. You pose a significant risk of harm to members of the public."

Harding was sentenced to a total of 15 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of five years. He will serve at least two-thirds of the custodial sentence before he will be considered for parole. The defendant was also made subject to two restraining orders and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.