24-year-old man jailed after filming himself raping homeless woman while celebrating his birthday

By Matt Drake

21:41 03 June 2024, updated 22:40 03 June 2024

• Liam Stimpson, 24, denied the allegations and claimed the filming was part of a role play

A rapist who carried out a “sadistic” attack on a defenceless homeless woman cried in the dock as he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Liam Stimpson, 24, was celebrating his birthday in Cardiff city centre when he encountered his victim.

A judge said the man, who had been drinking vodka, stripped the homeless woman of her “last bit of dignity” by forcing her to strip naked before carrying out his gruesome sexual assault, which he also filmed.

He also brutally beat her by knocking her down, punching her in the face and kicking her in the head.

CCTV footage from December 27 last year showed Stimpson and the 40-year-old woman walking to Baker’s Row in the city centre before returning to St Mary’s Street and parting ways.

But Stimpson continued to pursue the victim before attacking her in an underpass, WalesOnline reported.

She suffered severe facial injuries and her eye was swollen shut.

In the footage, the victim can be seen reaching out to her attacker and saying: “Don’t hit me, baby, please don’t hit me. I have kids.”

Although the homeless woman begged Stimpson to stop, he continued his barbaric attack, telling her he was the “boss” and she would do what he told her.

He forced her to take off her coat despite the cold and wet weather and then “sadistically” raped her while filming the incident.

After the attack, the victim managed to escape, but Stimpson caught up with her, brought her down and continued to rain violent punches and kicks to her face and head.

Police were called after the victim sought refuge in a nearby pub and told cleaners early in the morning: “I was raped.”

Within half an hour of the call, officers arrested Stimpson on Caroline Street and he has been in custody since then.

The victim was taken to the hospital where he remained for several days to be treated for a broken nose, head injuries and wrist injuries.

Police discovered videos of the incident on the defendant’s cell phone.

Although he refused to provide the PIN, officials suspected it was his date of birth.

Many jurors were moved to tears when they saw the horrific footage.

Stimpson denied the allegations and claimed the woman suggested filming as part of a role play after he paid her for oral sex.

But the jury found him guilty of the shocking attack.

Sentencing the attacker at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “You recorded this incident for your own sexual gratification, as a kind of trophy to watch at your leisure or to show to others.”

“It shows a woman naked, beaten, bleeding and fearing for her life.”

“Her behavior was callous and sometimes bordered on sadism. Her voice had a threatening tone.

“That wasn’t consent. That was dominance on your part over her.”

“You have not shown the slightest hint of remorse or compassion for your victim.

“You have forced the victim to relive the events of that night and the effect on her in the witness box is palpable.”

“You degraded and humiliated her and forced her to crawl like a dog while you filmed it.”

“They completely humiliated her and took away the last shred of her dignity.”

In a victim’s personal statement read out in court by prosecutor Nicola Powell, she said: “I want to say that this has destroyed my life. I can’t sleep at night, I can imagine everything and I see his face all the time.”

“This has changed my whole opinion about men. I want that man to go to jail for what he did to me.

“I’m worried he’ll do this to another woman. I’m scared this man will get out of prison and sexually and physically attack me again.

“It has affected me greatly. I cannot socialize at the moment, I want to be alone and suppress what happened to me.”

Stimpson, of Uphill Road, Llanrumney, was found guilty of two counts of rape, inducing a person to engage in sexual activity without their consent and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and the court heard he had several previous convictions, including theft, attempted theft, attempted robbery and possession of a controlled drug.

During the verdict, Stimpson cried in the dock, refused to leave the courtroom and had to be carried out by staff.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, two-thirds of which he will spend in pre-trial detention.

In addition, Stimpson was placed on a sex offender reporting requirement and an indefinite restraining order.

In his defence, Ruth Smith said her client had been diagnosed with a disability of a neurodiverse nature.

A psychiatric report confirmed a long-standing diagnosis of ADHD and he was recently diagnosed with autism.

Ms Smith also said her client found detention very difficult and that he was harassed and bullied at Parc Prison in Bridgend.

The court also learned that his girlfriend is expecting a child from him.

Detective Katherine Barry of South Wales Police said the footage of the attack was the most shocking she had seen in her 21-year career.

She said: “Stranger attacks like this are extremely unusual in Cardiff, but in Liam Stimpson we had a dangerous person.”

“The level of violence he used and the humiliation he inflicted on the victim were horrific. He is an absolute danger to women.”

“We would like to thank the witnesses who responded to the press appeal and those who courageously gave their statements.”

“We would also like to express our thanks to the victim support worker who provided invaluable support to the victim and the investigation.”

Rhianydd Jones, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This case highlights the extreme violence and disregard for human dignity shown by the defendant.”

“We are grateful to the jury for their careful consideration and to the victim for her courage in coming forward, which led to these convictions.”