A RAPIST who drugged his vulnerable victim and subjected her to a ‘violent and prolonged’ 45-minute sexual assault with two other men has been jailed for 12-and-a-half years.
Caspar Smith, 46, lured a physically and mentally vulnerable woman to his flat in Omega Place in October 2018 to commit the ‘planned and engineered’ assault.
The victim, who was in her 30s, reported being unable to control her body during the attack after being drugged.
Smith was arrested in February 2019 after being identified as the offender. He has refused to identify the other two men involved and police enquiries are ongoing to identify them.
Smith pleaded not guilty to rape, sexual assault and two counts of aiding and abetting – but was was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Tuesday (June 29) after being found guilty on all counts.
During the trial, Prosecutor Caroline Harris said Smith had got to know the victim through their previous drug use, and he was aware she had health problems.
Miss Harris told the jury: “This was a planned sexual attack. He had planned and engineered this.”
She said Smith had pestered the woman to go to his home, and when she arrived she found Smith was there with a man he introduced as a neighbour.
Two other men, who the woman did not know by their full names, arrived shortly afterwards, and the four men began watching pornography.
Smith then took her medication from her bag and put one of the tablets into her mouth, together with another tablet which she did not think was one of her drugs, so she at first spat them out, but then did take them.
At the same time, Smith took her bank card, saying he was having problems with his own card, and gave it to one of the other men to go to get drugs, said Miss Harris.
“Soon after taking the tablets, she went to the bathroom and could hear the men whispering, one of them said ‘Can we all make an agreement that what happens in the flat stays in the flat?’
“She went back into the living room and Smith removed her underwear and sexually assaulted her, despite her saying no. The defendant made remarks like ‘It’s alright, it’s fine.’”
Miss Harris told the jury that Smith then ushered his neighbour to come over, and the man got up, but then said ‘We don’t need to do this,’ at which Smith told him to leave, which he did.
Miss Harris said the woman ‘felt terror’ that she could not get away because of the combination of her medication and the other drug, and could not stop what was happening.
She was thrown from one sofa to the other by one of the men, who wanted to have sex with her, and he raped her.
“The other man was more reluctant, but they carried on regardless… and were looking to the defendant for guidance as to what to do next.”
Miss Harris said Smith had intercourse with her, and then held her while another of the men raped her.
A few days after the incident, the woman called her GP’s practice and said she had been raped by three men, and the police were contacted.
When Smith was arrested he declined to answer questions, but gave a written statement in which he denied the allegation of rape and claimed the sexual contact had been consensual.
And he went on to say he did not witness anyone else raping the woman.
But Miss Harris said messages sent between them contained an acknowledgement of what had happened.
The woman messaged: “You and your friends sexually abused me and raped me. You really don’t understand how wrong it was.”
Smith replied: “I do understand.” And in a later message he said: “I wish it never happened. I am sorry.”
Following the trial, Det Cons Steve Mobbs from the Warwickshire Police Major Investigation Unit said: “This was a violent and prolonged sexual assault orchestrated by Smith that has had a huge impact on the life of the vulnerable victim.
“Smith initially denied any wrongdoing, but the strength of the case left the jury in no doubt of his guilt.
“His refusal to provide the names of the other two offenders involved in this attack has only sought to frustrate the investigation.
“However, the victim, who has shown great bravery throughout this investigation, has taken some measure of comfort from the lengthy sentence given to Smith.”
Anyone with information that could help detectives identify the other two men involved should contact Warwickshire Police on 101 quoting crime reference 23/1085/19. Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
