Rapist who locked his victim in a cage and treated her like a dog was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison

• Connor Jay McLachlan, 28, from Wales, was sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison

A rapist who locked his victim in a cage and treated her like a dog in a brutal tirade of sexual abuse has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison.

Connor Jay McLachlan, 28, from Port Talbot, Wales, shattered the woman’s self-esteem to the point where she was convinced he would be acquitted of all charges against him.

Instead, the 28-year-old was found guilty of 11 charges, including rape and sexual abuse, following a trial at Swansea Crown Court.

Every time the woman tried to end her relationship with McLachlan, he bombarded her with messages, showed up at her door, wouldn’t take no for an answer, and spread news about her on social media.

Despite the physical, emotional and sexual violence, his victim, who must remain anonymous for legal reasons, said his constant manipulation and control meant: “It was easier to live with the abuse than to endure the negative reactions from him. It was easier to just keep quiet.”

McLachlan isolated his victim from her family and friends, encouraged her to move to a place where she was unable to use her support systems, and blamed her for the violence he inflicted on her.

He made her believe that it was her fault that he couldn’t control himself, that it was her fault that he beat her and raped her, and that she deserved to be forced to behave like a dog and be spit on.

It was only after a traumatic incident in which she lost a baby during pregnancy and McLachlan shouted at her that she decided she could no longer endure the abuse.

She managed to cut off contact with him for two weeks, but on the day she returned home, he showed up and tried to force his way in.

The woman said: “I reported it at the time because I thought: ‘He’s going to kill me.’”

McLachlan was arrested in September 2023. In March, he was found guilty of controlling or compulsive behavior, intentional strangulation, four counts of criminal damage, assault, sending a letter with intent to cause distress, two counts of sexual assault and rape.

He was found not guilty on two other counts of intentional strangulation and rape. On April 25, he was sentenced to 13 years and three months in prison and given a rare lifetime restraining order prohibiting him from having any contact with his victim. He must spend at least 10 years in prison before he can be released.

Despite the prison sentence, the victim says she is still very afraid of her former partner. She said: “I can’t sleep because of it, my anxiety is terrible. I keep having flashbacks. I’m (still afraid), I know when he says something he means it. Even now that he’s in prison, he’s told people he’ll wait until he’s out.”

McLachlan was found guilty not only of physical violence, but also of the controlling or coercive manner that his former partner began to use almost immediately afterwards.

She said: “He immediately started controlling me. He would take away my phone, answer my friends’ messages or send messages to other people so we wouldn’t talk. To be honest, I didn’t even notice at first. Other people would tell me things about him and I would brush it off.

“I think you just learn to live with it. When I moved here it got worse because I was far away from everyone, had no friends and wasn’t allowed to see anyone.

“He isolated me completely. When I wasn’t with him, he called me nonstop and I had to answer. I had to answer immediately. If I didn’t, he would come here so angry that I had to put the children to bed so they couldn’t see it.”

The woman claimed that one of the physical attacks even took place in public.

She recalled: “One night after we went out for a drink, he beat me up. He pulled my hair and strangled me. I thought he was going to kill me in the alley next to my house. He didn’t care about being in public.”

The victim continued: “I always pushed him. One time he put a machete in my hair and said he was going to kill me. He just always wanted more from me.”

“He took my phone and keys and hid them so I couldn’t leave. I tried to get out the window, but he dragged me back in. Then when we went to bed, this (the rape) happened.”

After a violent incident, she was forced to go home with bruises and torn clothes and without a phone. She said: “It was humiliating. He could have taken me with him, but he wanted this humiliation.”

In videos provided to a reporter, McLachlan can be seen ripping the woman’s Ring doorbell camera off the wall and smashing it. In voice messages, he can be heard aggressively yelling at her. He can be heard shouting that she has ways to “help herself” by standing up to his abuse.

The victim said: “He wanted to kill me. It was always the same eyes and I even have a scar now. And he bit my nose, so I have a scar there. My whole body was covered, he ripped out all my hair.”

“It got to the point where it was happening every other day or every day. He would put me in the kitchen and make me act like a dog. He would spit on me, put me in a cage and treat me like a dog.”

She said that because of her injuries, she could barely leave the house and only did so to take her children to school. She added: “I took the kids to school and came right back, that was my day. I couldn’t take the kids to school when I was black and blue. I lied to everyone.”

McLachlan’s threatening messages included tirades such as: “You have options now to help yourself. Help me help you because I can’t control myself as you already know. I’m not turning back, nothing is going to stop me. So call me now while I’m still calm before I lose my head.”

The victim recalled the five-day trial at Swansea Crown Court in March, saying it was “horrific”. She said McLachlan laughed in the dock, prompting the judge to highlight his lack of responsibility and remorse.

The woman added: “It was so traumatizing. I went behind a board in the courtroom because I didn’t want to see his face, but I wanted the jury to see how small I was compared to him. It was scary to be in the same room with him, I didn’t want to be near him.”

She said of the verdict: “I was speechless because he blamed me so much that I thought he would get away with it.”

“He robbed me of so much self-confidence. I have so much self-doubt and lack of self-confidence. I think if she hadn’t come to my house that day, I would still be sitting in the corner crying.

“I just want people to know who and what he is and that this doesn’t happen to anyone else. And because I also have to get over it and realize that it wasn’t my fault. I want to help other people too.”