Man sentenced for rape and false imprisonment

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for six-and-a-half years for the 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 17 December.

At his trial, Rust was found guilty of two rape offences, one count of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment, all relating to one woman.

The court heard Rust and his victim were both aged 16 when he raped her. On a separate occasion, he tied her up with her consent but then left her naked in a cupboard for 15 minutes without her consent.

Rust was acquitted of 25 other counts, and a jury failed to reach a verdict on seven others.

Before his trial, he admitted to possessing extreme pornographic images.

Rust was arrested by Gloucestershire Police in April 2024. Around 4,500 videos were found on electronic devices seized by officers, many of which depicted violence and sexual abuse against women.

The court was told how Rust had been of previously good character, but Judge Ian Lawrie KC said that he had shown "little remorse of substance" for his crimes.

He said that Rust's consumption of extreme pornography was an aggravating factor and was concerned that "a spectator of such material can become an active participant".

Rust's victim read an impact statement to the court.

"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," she said.

"For years, I have felt the crushing, debilitating weight of fear and shame in my own body, because of you...

"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."

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

Rust was also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and given restraining orders against the victim and two other women.

Investigating officer Det Con Annabel Brittain said: "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.

"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 forever after Rust is released from behind bars."

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