Man sentenced to 22 years in prison for sexual assault at knifepoint in Louth

A Lincolnshire man who repeatedly raped a woman at knifepoint and sexually assaulted two girls has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

David King, 42, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of six charges following a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.

Judge Godsmark found that King terrorized the adult victims of his rapes and inflicted significant psychological harm on child victims of sexual assault.

John McNally, King’s defense attorney, told the court that King had a difficult childhood and considered harming himself.

The crimes, some of which occurred in the Louth area, included sexual assaults on two children under the age of 13 and two further charges of rape of a woman.

The statements of all three victims were read out in court.

One of King’s victims, a child at the time, described how she regularly suffered from anxiety and panic attacks.

The woman said she had now grown up and gone from being a “shy, happy girl” to someone who could no longer go to school.

“It paralyzed me,” the woman added. “I felt like a prisoner in my own body.”

A second victim, now an adult, described how her mental health had deteriorated and she now had difficulty trusting men.

“I find it really hard to trust anyone,” the woman revealed. “I’m constantly suspicious.”

The statement of a third victim who was raped by King as an adult was also read.

She described how King had instilled in her a terrible fear of knives.

“The fear that he is free scares the hell out of me,” she added.

King was arrested in 2020 after filing a police report.

The court heard that King had no previous convictions and had been in custody since December.

Mr McNally said: “He found pre-trial detention painful.”

In sentencing, Judge Nigel Godsmark KC said he was satisfied that King had felt entitled to seek sexual gratification from women and girls.

An indefinite sexual violence prevention order was issued against King. Judge Godsmark also issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting King from having contact with his victims.