Jail for Mansfield man who raped teenage girl and sexually assaulted another underage victim
A Mansfield “sexual predator” who raped and sexually assaulted a teenage girl before using the same methods on another underage victim has been jailed for ten years.
Peter Whetstone's 16-year-old victim made it "absolutely clear" she didn't want to have sex with him and slapped him to get him to stop, said David Spens KC, prosecuting.
Whetstone slapped the girl back and held her by the neck before raping her "forcefully," he said. The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police it hurt a lot and she bled as a result.
Whetstone denied raping her, as well as two counts of sexual assault, but was found guilty by a jury in September last year.
On two previous occasions Nottingham Crown Court heard he tried to "touch her up" and, when she pushed his hand away from her upper thigh, gripped her hand and forced her to touch his genitals, the court heard.
He kept shouting at her and asking what she was doing with her life on the way home.
Whetstone, now 29, of Cromford Avenue, pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault against another girl before his trial started.
The 14-year-old told him she was too young to be talking to her when he first contacted her.
He began asking her for explicit images and warned her not to tell anyone “as it would ruin his life”.
After she turned 15 Whetstone invited her for a drive and asked if her location could be traced on Snapchat before they had sex.
He continued to text her and even offered money to buy sex toys and send videos of her using them.
Whetstone apologised to his 16-year-old victim after accusations surfaced on social media, and suggested his life had been ruined, "which was just what I deserve."
His younger victim said: "The abuse robbed me of my teenage years. I was very vulnerable, and he was aware of my age and my mental health issues.
"He was an adult; I was a child. I felt unable to ask for help. I was unable to cope with the guilt and shame."
On Tuesday Philip Bown, mitigating, said Whetstone, of previous good character, was “still maturing” at the time, is “genuinely remorseful,” and has suffered poor mental health.