Description
A nan now goes to bed every night with a pair of scissors under her pillow after she was raped at knifepoint by a man she met at a bus stop.
Alex Belay appeared to be a "nice lad", and the nan agreed to go back to his flat in the belief that she had missed the last bus home. But he instead snatched her phone from her as she spoke to her son, held a knife to her stomach and throat and subjected her to a horrific sexual assault.
She was left "genuinely believing" she was going to die during the attack. A remorseless Belay then "smirked" after finally bringing the ordeal to an end.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this week the victim had been visiting a friend before leaving to get the bus home at around midnight. She encountered the defendant at the bus stop but, believing they had missed the last service of the evening, they then began walking away together while chatting, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Olivia Beesley, prosecuting, described how Belay then invited the woman into his flat on Sefton Moss Villas in Litherland. She agreed as she "thought she would be safe and wasn't in danger because he was much younger than her".
But, having returned from the toilet, she "felt that something was wrong" and told him that she was going to leave. Belay, an asylum seeker who was born in Eritrea and came to the UK in 2020 after fleeing civil war in Sudan, responded by turning the lights out and pushing her.
When she answered an incoming call from her son, the 26-year-old took her phone from her and locked the front door. He then grabbed a knife and held it to her stomach and pointed it at her throat "every time she began to speak".
Ms Beesley said: "She thought she wasn't going to get out of there alive."
Belay then pushed the woman onto his bed, pulled her trousers down and raped her. When the assault finished, she asked "can I go?" before escaping and phoning a family member.
A trial previously heard that she was able to describe her attacker's clothing and flat "in great detail", while she was found to have left her cigarette lighter in his bathroom. Belay's DNA was also discovered in her underwear, but he denied having even met her.
In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf during his sentencing on Thursday, she detailed how she had "tried to kill herself numerous times" since and added: "Before this happened, my life wasn't perfect but I was a jolly person. I was happy and always had a smile on my face.
"I felt like I had everything to live for. I would do anything for anyone. Since the day this happened to me, I have been so angry and depressed. I just feel numb.
"I feel so dirty and I have no self respect. I am so angry for being so stupid. I never thought for one second that my life would be ruined by this. This has consumed me.
"It's all I think about. The day this happened to me, my world ended. When I go to bed, I keep a pair of scissors under my pillow. I don't feel safe any more, not even in my own home.
"I didn't do anything wrong. I'm paying for what he did to me. I just don't understand how he could do this. I go over what happened to me every day.
"What has happened to me has scarred me for life. I sometimes think, why didn't he kill me? I just thank god for letting me live so I can see my kids again. I will never be the same again.
"I am scared of my own shadow all the time. I just can't carry on this way. I just want to forget everything and get on with life, but I just can't. It's always there, every minute of the day."
Stella Hayden, defending, told the court: "This is plainly a particularly grave example of an offence even this serious in nature. It is very difficult to realistically advance that this is not a case where there has been severe psychological harm.
"It seems to have been a chance encounter when at the bus stop late at night. It is his first conviction. He is still a relatively young man. I understand that, given his status, he is likely to be deported in any event."
Belay was found guilty of rape by a jury. He was jailed for 12 years, a term of which he must serve at least two thirds before becoming eligible for release.
Sentencing, Judge Katherine Pierpoint said: "She saw no danger in you. She described you as being what she thought was a nice lad.
"She was a chatty person and you invited her back to your flat. Once she got into the flat, she got the feeling that something wasn't right. She said she wanted to leave, but you wouldn't let her. You turned the light off and locked the door, and you took her phone off her.
"At the time, she was speaking to her son. It is clear from the evidence that he was left distraught, having heard something of his mother's panic and the phone then being turned off.
"She pleaded with you to let her go. You picked up a large knife and put it to her stomach and then, when she tried to speak, put it to her throat. You dragged her to the bedroom, taking the knife with you. You pulled her lower clothes off and forced her onto the floor, where you then raped her."
"She was petrified. She genuinely believed you were going to kill her. It was her account that, as you got off her having raped her, you smirked. She left that flat traumatised.
"The evidence against you in this case was, in my judgement, overwhelming. You denied that you had ever met her, ever had any contact with her or that she had ever been in your flat. You have shown no remorse and continue to deny that you ever even met her. Your attack on her has had a devastating effect.
"She is still suffering greatly. Her mental health has been seriously damaged. She has made numerous attempts to take her own life. She is left feeling angry with herself for trusting you.
"You have, in her words, wrecked her life. She feels that she will never get over what you did to her. I accept that your time growing up in a war torn country would have been extremely traumatic for you. I take into account your age and that you have no previous convictions."
Judge Pierpoint also said of the victim: "I want to say that she is a strong woman who should be commended for her bravery in standing up against you."
Belay began remonstrating in his native tongue with his interpreter in the dock before he was led down to the cells by dock officers, who told him "go, go on". He will be required to sign the sex offenders register for life.