"Sadistic" Kirkby rapist jailed for 17 years

Armed police were called to Bradley Dawes' home on Mayfield Street, at 3.30pm on January 2, 2019, where the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found with a broken nose and a chipped tooth.

Nottingham Crown Court heard how Dawes strangled the woman and photographed her injuries to humiliate her before she was able to raise the alarm, prosecutor Hal Ewing said.

He was found guilty of raping her after a trial on March 19, but not guilty of a sexual assault that was alleged during the same incident.

In a statement, she said: "I still feel violated, humiliated and worthless because of what he did to me. This has ruined my life. I can't forget what happened."

Dawes, 26, who was considered too "dangerous" by the probation service, admitted three more counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two more common assaults, witness intimidation and harassment.

On December 23, 2018, shortly after he was released from prison, Dawes strangled and beat a woman, leaving her with a black eye and sore ribs.

And on October 23, 2019, he attacked a different woman, grabbing her around the neck and strangling her before punching her five times in the face.

He also tried to suffocate her by clamping his hand over her mouth and nose to stop her from breathing. He told her to stop crying and threw a boot at her, which bruised her thigh.

After she contacted police, Dawes bombarded her with abusive messages warning her to retract her statement. One read: "I will give you three hours to do the right thing. Otherwise you won't see your family again."

He threatened to set her home on fire, and left her "frightened, sick, upset and miserable."

Mr Ewing told Nottingham Crown Court that most of Dawes' previous offending was against women: he received four months in a Young Offenders Institute (YOI) for attacking an ex-girlfriend, in March 2013, a suspended sentence for punching one woman in the face and 20 weeks in a YOI for assaulting another woman, both in 2015; he was jailed for six months for possession of a machete and threatening a social worker, in 2018.

Jeffrey Israel, mitigating, said Dawes, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, was unable to control his temper.

He asked the judge to disregard a suggestion in the pre-sentence report that Dawes was "motivated by his hostility to women."

"One hopes he will grow and mature in prison. I do accept he showed his victims little mercy, but ask the court to show him some mercy by sentencing him to a determinate sentence."

Recorder Jason Macadam warned Dawes he would be removed from the dock if he interrupted him during the sentencing on Friday afternoon.

"I am satisfied your offending was motivated by your hostility to women," he said. "All of your offending is against females."

His previous offending showed a pattern of targeting vulnerable people that was escalating, the judge told him, adding that he appeared to be a misogynist who took "sadistic pleasure" in causing others pain.

"You lack empathy for others. You blame your victims for your offending,” he said.

Recorder MacAdam said he considered Dawes to be "dangerous" in the legal sense and passed an extended sentence of 17 years.

He will have to serve two thirds of it before he can be considered for parole.

Dawes was placed on the Sexual Offenders Register for life.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Constable Donna Elliott, from Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Dawes is a violent, arrogant and controlling bully who terrorised two young women. His attitude throughout the investigation was appalling and I am delighted that he will now spend a very considerable period of time behind bars.

“This was a lengthy and complex investigation bringing together two separate investigations and could not have been successful without the bravery of his victims, who showed enormous courage in coming forward and giving evidence about the ordeals Dawes had put them through.

“Nottinghamshire Police will never tolerate violence towards women and will do everything we can to empower victims and bring perpetrators to justice.”

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