Man goes to prison after raping homeless woman and taking away her “last bit of dignity”

A man has been jailed for raping a homeless woman in Cardiff city centre.

Liam Stimpson was caught on CCTV and mobile phone footage raping and violently assaulting the victim in the early hours of Wednesday, December 27 last year. Stimpson, from Llanrumney in Cardiff, had denied four offences, including rape and grievous bodily harm. A jury at Cardiff Crown Court found him guilty on Thursday.

He is said to have deeply degraded and humiliated her and robbed her of “the last bit of dignity”. She suffered significant injuries to her face and her right eye was swollen shut.

At the hearing, it was heard that the defendant had been drinking vodka and celebrating his 24th birthday before meeting the victim. CCTV footage showed both of them walking to Bakers Row before returning to St Mary’s Street and walking away from each other. After punching her, Stimpson ordered the victim to strip naked and raped her. He continued to assault her even as she ran away screaming for help.

A bar cleaner and a delivery driver were two key witnesses who intervened and called the police. Within 30 minutes, Stimpson was arrested and remanded in custody.

Passing sentence, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: “You have 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 who is naked, battered, bloody and in agony.”

The victim begged Stimpson not to hit her, but he continued the attack by demanding that she perform sexual acts, Wales Online reports. He told her he was the “boss” and she would do whatever he told her before he raped her. Judge Jenkins described the incident as follows: “Her behaviour was callous and bordered on sadism at times. Her voice sounded threatening.”

After the attack, the victim managed to escape, but Stimpson caught up with her and tackled her from behind, causing her to fall heavily to the ground. While she was on the ground screaming for help, the defendant punched her twice in the face and kicked her in the head.

He ran away while the victim sought refuge in a nearby pub, where a cleaner consoled her and called the police. The victim was taken to hospital where she was treated for several days for a broken nose, head injuries and wrist injuries.

In a victim’s personal statement read out in court by prosecutor Nicola Powell, the victim said: “I want to say 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 this man to go to prison for what he did to me.”

“I’m worried he’ll do this to another woman. I’m scared that this man will be released from prison and will sexually and physically attack me again. This has really affected me. I can’t socialize at the moment, I want to be alone to block out what happened to me.”

Detective Inspector Katherine Barry of South Wales Police said: “Stranger attacks like this are extremely unusual in Cardiff but in Liam Stimpson we were dealing with a dangerous individual. The level of violence he used and the humiliation he inflicted on the victim was appalling. He is an absolute danger to women.”

“We would like to thank the witnesses who came forward in response to the press appeal and those who bravely gave their statements. We would also like to thank the victim support worker who was an invaluable support to the victim and the investigation.”

Stimpson was sentenced to 15 years in prison at Cardiff Crown Court today (Monday 3 June).