Herts man who ‘disguised himself as a woman’ for attack victim jailed

A man who disguised himself as a woman to sexually assault a drunk 20-year-old man has been jailed.

Wayne Rogers, now 48, sexually assaulted the victim in September 2022 after she had been drinking over a five-hour period and fell in the centre of Bishops Stortford in Hertfordshire, near the Essex border.

When he was arrested on November 4, 2022, officers found two blonde wigs, a pair of fake breasts, and a cell phone with video footage of the attack.

Rogers, of Plaw Hatch Close, Bishop’s Stortford, appeared before St Albans Crown Court and was sentenced to ten years in prison, ordered to register as a sex offender for life and to comply with the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.

At his last trial last year, prosecutor Mark Trafford KC said: “He (Rogers) is a sex offender who targets drunk men and deceives them by dressing up as a woman.”

He added that before the incident, the victim accompanied a friend to a car that picked her up and took her home.

After he fell, Rogers discovered the man and led him to his car, from where he was driven a short distance away and sexually assaulted.

Mr Trafford said: “It was done without any consent. It was degrading and he was left somewhere at 5am. He woke up on a patch of grass.”

Rogers appeared at St Albans Crown Court on Tuesday for sentencing after being found guilty by a jury in September 2023 of penetrative assault, two counts of sexual assault and two counts of inducing a person to engage in sexual acts without their consent.

Judge Sheridan said: “He was an easy target for you. There was a certain amount of planning involved. You went out with your fake breasts and your wig.”