'Horrible beast' raped woman who asked for help

A "horrible dirty beast" who raped a woman after she asked for his help with some jobs at her home has been jailed for nine years.

William Flamson, 41, had denied attacking the woman but was found guilty of rape by jurors.

The woman said the ordeal of going through a trial had been "horrendous" and she hated Flamson for ruining her life.

At Newcastle Crown Court, Judge Roger Thomas KC said "feckless" Flamson, from Bensham in Gateshead, had an attitude of "male privilege and entitlement" and there was no doubt he had caused the woman severe psychological harm.

Flamson, who had 70 offences on his criminal record including for domestically abusing two women, raped his victim after she asked him to help her with some chores, prosecutor Emma Dowling said.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said the attack had changed her life forever.

She described Flamson as a "horrible dirty beast" who had "ruined" her existence.

She said she took several showers a day and scrubbed her skin raw as she felt "disgusting and dirty".

The woman said she had considered killing herself and the trial, in which she had been depicted by Flamson as a liar, had been "horrendous".

"The only person who has lied from start to finish is Flamson," she said, adding he knew he had raped her yet did "not have the decency" to admit it.

Addressing Flamson directly, the woman said: "I hate you, I hate you for ruining my life."

Judge Thomas said Flamson was a "feckless individual" with a history of domestic violence which, along with the rape, showed he had a negative attitude towards women.

The judge said he had seen the victim was "plainly distraught" giving evidence at the trial, when it was "ludicrously" suggested by Flamson the sex had been consensual.

"I have no hesitation in concluding she has indeed suffered severe psychological harm."

He said Flamson's attack was "brutal and nasty" against a vulnerable woman.

Flamson will also have to sign the sex offenders register for life.

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