Terrified woman raped by violent stranger to save life of man she was on first date with

A terrified woman was forced to have sex with a violent stranger to save the life of a man she was out on a first date with.

The brave victim, in her 20s, was targeted by Sean Robinson, who was 17 at the time, while walking home with her date after a night out in Sunderland.

Robinson, now aged 18, beat the man and left him lying bleeding and unconscious on the ground, before telling the woman: “If you come and have sex with me I will not kill him”.

The teenager then dragged her into some bushes and told her to “stop crying like a baby” while he raped her, and threatened to kill the man if she stopped, our sister title the Sunderland Echo reports.

The defendant pleaded guilty to rape and assault at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday (24 January), with the court hearing the “abominable” attack had "catastrophic" consequences for the victims.

Prosecutor Jane Waugh told the court: "She had witnessed the horrific violence and knew what he was capable of. She decided, in order to save his life and protect herself from the defendant’s unpredictable violence, she would have to agree to have sex with him so he would leave (the man) alone."

The court heard how Robinson made the victim lie on an old coat he found near some bushes before raped her. Miss Waugh added: "She was crying through this whole attack.

“The defendant told her ‘if you stop I will go and kill him you know’. She continued to cry as he raped her. The defendant said ‘shut up and stop being a baby’."

The unprovoked attack occurred after the couple heard shouting from behind them as they approached a bypass while walking home from their date, at which point Robinson launched himself at the man and punched him several times, the court heard.

Miss Waugh said: "He tried to get away, he didn’t want to fight and made that very clear, he was saying ‘mate, I don’t want to fight’."

As the man tried to get away, Robinson chased after him and then punched him to the ground, before kicking him.

When he stopped kicking him, the victim got up and the couple managed to run off across a bridge. At this point the man was "exhausted and bleeding", while the woman was "almost carrying him" in a desperate attempt to get away.

The defendant then caught up with them and began attacking the man again, kicking him in the head while he was down on the ground. The woman pleaded with Robinson to stop the attack, telling him “she would do anything if he would stop beating (the man)”, the court heard.

The injured man said “please don’t touch her” at which point Robinson delivered a brutal kick to the face that knocked him unconscious. He then said to the woman he would not kill the man if she agreed to have sex with him, before raping her in the bushes.

After the attack, the defendant told the woman he would leave her alone if she agreed to come to his house. Fortunately, she managed to call her mum for help and her parents alerted the police, while keeping their daughter on the phone.

Robinson was still in the area, where the victim had waited with the unconscious man after the attack, when her parents arrived. The woman’s father warned Robinson "I’m going to ******* kill you" and punches were thrown before the teenager fled the scene, before later being caught by the police. It was only when he got to the hospital that the man who was attacked during the date found out about the rape.

The judge described Robinson, of Halesworth Road, Sunderland, as “dangerous” and sentenced him to five years in jail, with an extended three year licence period. He will also be put on the sex offender register and was handed a restraining order to protect the victims for life.

She told him: "You told her ‘come and have sex with me and I will not kill him’, knowing, of course, you had meted out a severe beating to (the man) at that point, she has seen and knew what you were capable of at that time.

"In order to protect herself and reasonably to protect the life of her new friend, she decided to go along with your suggestion that she have sex with you. It was not consensual sex.

"Throughout the attack you were telling her off for crying, saying if you had to stop because she was under enthusiastic about this awful assault you had the option to go back and mete out further punishment to the man."

‘I just wanted to cry and cry’

The woman said she and her family will never be the same after the "pain and grief" that has been caused, but added: "My only consolation is he will receive a lengthy custodial sentence, in which time we can rebuild our lives to resemble what we once knew".

In a victim statement, she described the time since the attack as the "worst of my life" and said reliving the traumatic experience has made her “a prisoner in my own head".

She added that her ordeal, which "cannot be summarised by words alone" has been worsened by court delays and the fact Robinson initially denied raping her. She said: "On the day I was told he pleaded guilty to raping me I just wanted to cry and cry. For the first time in what seemed life forever there were tears of relief not sadness."

The man said in his victim statement the date of the attack should have been a memorable one but is now etched into his memory “for all the wrong reasons”.

He said: "While walking home we were brutally attacked without reason. I tried to defend myself and (the woman) the best I could but the male overpowered me.

"The last memory I have of this is waking up dazed and seeing a male standing over me and a look of terror on her face.

“At the time I didn’t know what had happened but have since found out she was raped. The feeling of guilt has persisted. I forever wish I could have helped her."

Robinson, who has never been in trouble before, admitted assault and rape. Lorraine Mustard, defending, said the teenager understands the trauma he caused that day, is remorseful for it and “accepts he’s ruined their lives”.

Miss Mustard added that Robinson had a difficult childhood and spent time in the care system but has "hope" for a better future.