Matthew Pugh waited until his victim was intoxicated from drink and drugs before raping her at the side of a busy road in front of motorists in an "utterly degrading" attack
A paedophile raped a woman in front of passing motorists on a busy road in an "utterly degrading" attack.
Matthew Pugh, 40, was said to be "excited" at the prospect of raping the woman last year in an assault the judge described as "disturbing".
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court was also told that Pugh had been found with images of child abuse on his phone after an acquaintance went to change music on the device. He was revealed that he had been speaking to other paedophiles in group chats and said there was "no limits to his perversions".
The woman had made it clear to Pugh she was "not remotely interested" in him and told the defendant to leave her alone. He went on to supply her with pregabalin – a drug which can cause drowsiness and fatigue.
Shortly before the attack the victim was sitting outside on a style and was heavily intoxicated, having taken crack cocaine and alcohol, which caused her to fall asleep. The defendant became aware of this and took her vulnerable state as an opportunity to rape her.
In his sentencing remarks Judge Daniel Williams said: "Anyone with an ounce of decency would have tried to help her but the defendant does not have that." Pugh was said to have "become excited" by the prospect of raping the victim in public and subjected her to an "utterly degrading experience". The rape was captured in CCTV and the footage was played to the jury during Pugh’s trial. Judge Williams described the clip as "disturbing".
In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Tom Roberts the victim said she was at her "lowest point" when the defendant raped her, reported WalesOnline. She said: "I was drinking, taking lots of drugs every night, I was at a low point and my anxiety and depression were really bad. He still done what he did to me. Since the incident I can’t sleep thinking about it and it’s driving me crazy. I have had suicidal thoughts and wanted to kill myself. I can’t stop thinking about it and I still feel like that now.
"It kills me thinking back and it kills me he took advantage of me. I feel something has been taken away from me. In the night it’s really bad and every time I have a thought I need to go back to drink and drugs to cope."
At the time of the offence Pugh was on bail after he was found in possession of 17 indecent images of children. The images came to light after an acquaintance of the defendant was at his home in Pontygwaith on May 8 last year and went to change music on Pugh’s phone. He accidentally opened the defendant’s Kik account and the images were apparent.
The police were called and the phone was seized. There were a total of six category A images, four category B images, and seven category C images. Pugh had also been involved in disgusting conversations with other paedophiles during which he boasted about looking at naked children and said: "The filthier the better". Judge Williams said: "The chilling truth in this case is the defendant’s online boast that there were no limits to his perversity was true. The defendant’s sexual interest encompassed young boys, young girls, and he boasted about having sex with a 74-year-old woman."
Pugh, of HMP Parc, was convicted of rape but he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images and two counts of distributing indecent images. The court heard he had six previous convictions, the most serious of which was for possession of an offensive weapon.
Defence barrister Stephen Thomas said there was little mitigation for his client who refused to leave his cell and did not attend court to be sentenced. He said the defendant had a "positive upbringing" until the age of 14 when his father died and he turned to drink and drugs. He also sustained injuries in a car accident which exacerbated his drug use.
Pugh was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment with an extended licence period of six years. He will serve at least two-thirds of the custodial part of the sentence before being considered for parole, and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order.
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