Samuel Rust 23

Description

A 23-year-old man from South Wales has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for offences of rape and false imprisonment.

Samuel Rust, previously of Boverton, Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on Wednesday (17 December). 

Last year (2024) he had been charged with several offences and went on trial at Gloucester Crown Court in December 2024. 

Rust was found guilty of one count of anal rape, one count of oral rape, one count of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. These offences related to one woman.

Immediately prior to his trial, he pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornographic images.

He was acquitted of 25 other counts, and a jury failed to reach a verdict on seven others. These seven counts will lie on file.

The court was told that Rust was aged 16 when he raped a 16-year-old girl.

On a separate occasion he tied her up with her consent, but he then put her inside a cupboard naked for around 15 minutes without her consent.

This led to him being charged and convicted of false imprisonment. 

When Rust was arrested by Gloucestershire Police in April 2024, several of his electronic devices were seized.

The court was told that examinations revealed around 4,500 videos were on the devices between 2021 and 2024, a significant number of which depicted violence against, and the sexual abuse of, women.

Rust's defence barrister, Simon Warlock, said Rust had felt there were fewer videos and that Rust was a child at the time of the first rape.

His Honour Judge Ian Lawrie KC said:

"It was a litany of extreme pornography, brutality, humiliation, all manner of things. At a young age he had a fixation for appalling imagery, which echoes how he approaches women and certainly [the victim]."

The victim was in court and she read a statement detailing the impact Rust's offences had on her.

She said:

"The abuse I have suffered at the hands of you, Samuel Rust, is indescribable. And yet I am almost certain you cannot grasp how seriously your actions have affected anyone but yourself.

"For years I have felt the crushing, debilitating weight of fear and shame in my own body, because of you. No words can describe the horror you have subjected me to.

"No place is safe in the ghost of your presence. Flashes of the violent and humiliating acts you committed against me come to me with seemingly no rhyme or reason. And yet in those moments, I feel disgust in my own body.

"I wish to crawl out of the flesh you bruised, and yet neither is my mind safe. A part of you persists in there, and I am terrified of how long he will stay, how many years it will be until I truly find peace again.

"Many eyes see you for what you are today, Samuel Rust, and it is my sincere hope that you are one of them. Today, you will come away from your sentencing a rapist. A violent man. An abuser. I fear if you do not see yourself as those things now, that is all you will ever be.

"Although this trial has been deeply harrowing, I am grateful to those who made this outcome possible."

In mitigation, the court heard Rust was of previous good character, however Judge Lawrie said he showed "little remorse of substance" for his crimes after reading a letter Rust had written to the victim.

He said the letter was "the opposite of contrition" as Rust failed to recognise the harm caused by his actions and it was an exercise in “gaslighting". 

Before passing sentence, Judge Lawrie said Rust's fixation with extreme pornography was an aggravating factor and he expressed concern that "a spectator of such material can become an active participant".

He said:

"The extensive and disturbing imagery was hallmarked by sadomasochistic practices based on the brutal humiliation and domination of women and premised on violence and restraint.

"There were captions accompanying the images that tellingly show a clear interest in such sex and which was echoed in your behaviour towards the victim. Behaviour which reached beyond any consensual mutual interest. 

"The imagery showed a fascination and fixation for pushing the boundaries of such sex and to the humiliation [of women] - as happened with the victim."

As well as being jailed for six-and-a-half years, Rust was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and given restraining orders against the victim and two other women.

Following sentencing, investigating officer Detective Constable Annabel Brittain said:

"The crimes in this case have had a devastating and prolonged effect, as the victim so clearly articulated in her moving personal statement.

"She and the other witnesses who provided harrowing evidence should be commended for their strength and bravery during the complex investigation and lengthy trial process which have led to this offender being imprisoned for a significant time.

"His Honour Judge Lawrie commented on Rust’s ‘extraordinary fixation’ with demeaning and brutal pornography and how his being a spectator for this seems to have led to him perceiving women as ‘objects of gratification’ and having a ‘fascination with pushing the boundaries of sex’ and therefore posing an enduring risk.

"He also noted the offender’s lack of remorse for his actions. For these reasons, I am glad His Honour took, in his words, the unusual step of imposing a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order to help ensure people’s safety for ever after Rust is released from behind bars."