Perpetrator raped woman in her sleep and then lied to teenage girls about his age in order to abuse them

A terrifying sex offender raped a woman in her sleep after a night of drinking – and then lied about his age so he could abuse two teenage girls.

Rhys Maughan, 21, chose his first victim in 2022 after a night of drinking. Sheffield Crown Court heard on Thursday that the woman woke up to find Maughan raping her. She has been traumatised ever since, suffering nightmares and a fear of physical contact.

Prosecutor Rebecca Stevens said the woman reported the rape to police in February 2023 after speaking to a friend and Maughan was arrested. While he was out on bail for that offence, Maughan targeted two teenagers in Sheffield. Ms Stevens said the first said Maughan had added one of his victims on Snapchat and the two began chatting before he started meeting her and going out with a friend in his car.

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The prosecutor said: “He also went to her house… They arranged to meet up together and he would come to her house quite often at 11pm and they would watch TV until the early hours of the morning.”

The court heard in March last year the pair had sex, with Maughan, of Fair Holme View, Doncaster, telling the girl he was 18. Ms Stevens said: “A few days later she found out he was 21. She was shocked and looked him up on Facebook and saw a post saying ‘Happy 21st birthday’. She asked why he had lied and he apologised and she continued to meet him. The plaintiff’s mother met him and he told her he was 16. She then told him he was 21. She said: ‘I’m sorry, but I’m sorry.’

“During the contact, they continued to have sex and the defendant was in constant communication with her. This included requests to send him pictures of her in the shower.”

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It was said Maughan again lied about his age to attack a second young girl, who he told he was 15. The then 13-year-old said her age was clearly marked on her Snapchat account, which Maughan used to speak to her. Ms Stevens said the girl secretly left her home one night to meet Maughan in his car.

The prosecutor added: “They were sitting there talking and he offered her a drink of water. She drank it and said it tasted like water, but a short time later she started to feel tired and shaky and thought her vision was blurred. He invited her to get in the back of the car so she could sleep and he sat next to her and asked if she wanted to cuddle and she said yes.”

It is said the couple kissed and then Maughan abused the girl. The girl also later learned his real age when she saw a post on Facebook wishing him a happy birthday. Ms Stevens said the girl told a counsellor at school and the matter was reported to police.

The lawyer said: “He was arrested in April 2023 and after his arrest his phone was seized and interrogated. This enabled his connection with the first victim to be revealed and one indecent image of a Category A child, four Category B children and one Category C child were also found on his phone.”

“He was interviewed on April 20, 2023. With the second victim, he said she told him she was 18 and they had consensual sex. There was an allegation that he filmed her and he said it was her idea to do that. On April 28, he was interviewed again about the first girl and the images and gave a prepared statement saying he did not have sexual intercourse with her and did not know about the images.”

Maughan pleaded guilty to one count of rape relating to the offence after a night of drinking, as well as sexual conduct with a child, sexual communication with a child and possession of indecent images. In a victim personal statement read out in court, the rape victim said: “I have been on several different types of antidepressants because I have developed depression and anxiety and these illnesses have affected my life since he raped me.”

“Some days I can’t get out of bed and I want to end it all… I have nightmares and wake up crying or screaming and can’t get back to sleep. This has put a huge strain on my relationships with my family… I feel alone and isolated and the depression affects me every day.

“Even on good days, I worry all the time. The crime has made me hate the feeling of physical contact. If someone touches me, I feel sick and have a breakdown. I don’t want to live my life like that. The crime has caused me so much pain.”

One of the girls Maughan targeted in Sheffield also wrote a court statement, saying: “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.” She added: “I was a bit nervous about ever seeing him again… I know what he did to me was wrong and I never want anything like this to happen again. It makes me worry about my future relationships and who I can trust.”

In his mitigating statement, James Baird told the court that Maughan had made “the biggest mistake of his life when he committed the offence which is the subject of the first charge”.

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He said Maughan had been training to be a prison guard and had since been suspended and lost his job. The court heard he had written a letter to the court and provided several references, including one from a family member who is a doctor. Mr Baird said after his arrest for the rape, Maughan’s sleep patterns had been affected and he had been “checking social media at night”.

He said: “He was socially rejected and unable to control his environment. He drank excessively and that naturally makes it easier to justify things to yourself that you know are completely wrong.”

“It’s not an excuse, he knows that, but it’s the background to the offence when you look at the young man described in the allegations and how he is known to those who know him well and best. He is of good character… He has the continued and unwavering support of his family. They are here today to support him.”

Mr Baird said Maughan, who appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, feels “enormous shame, he says, at the position he finds himself in”. He added: “It is what struck him emotionally during our conference, the impact his offending has had on his family.”

“They are good, honest, hard-working people. He knows he has caused them great shame and fear, and that is a great deterrent and punishment for him.”

Sentencing Maughan to nine and a half years in prison, the Honourable Judge Slater told him: “It seems to me that there was something manipulative about your behaviour.”

He also granted Maughan a temporary restraining order preventing sexual violence and a restraining order pending further orders.