Croydon man jailed for raping and sexually abusing teenagers

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 11 years in prison after raping and sexually abusing two teenagers.

Nathan Catherall from Croydon met his 18 and 19 year old victims through a dating app.

The crimes occurred in Bristol in 2020 and 2021, police said.

In addition, Catherall was placed under indefinite reporting obligations, meaning he must report to the police regularly after his release.

One of the victims – who cannot be named for legal reasons – told Bristol Crown she was “so scared” during the ordeal as Catherall was sentenced on Thursday.

“Sometimes I feel numb when I think about what happened,” she added.

“I managed to suppress my feelings for so long that I didn’t have to deal with the pain.

“I like to think of myself as a strong, powerful woman, but in that moment I lost those qualities and I lost myself.”

She added: “I hope I can learn to forgive myself for being so hard on myself after you raped me, and I hope I can treat my body better in healing than I did in dealing with this situation.

“I don’t want to cry and I don’t want to hate myself.

“I want to love my body and I want to love myself.”

Prosecutor Kate Brunner KC said Catherall had shown a “disturbing attitude of entitlement” and an “absolute lack of insight” into his crimes.

She also praised the victims for their “tremendous strength and courage.”

Investigating officer Ellen Rye said: “No always means no and can be demonstrated in many different ways.

“It does not have to be verbal and no matter how a person communicates it, it is valid and should be respected by the other party.”

“This was not respected by Nathan Catherall. He chose to ignore every victim’s right to say no – for his own satisfaction.”