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UK man raped woman, forced her to marry him

This article is more than 12 months old

He lured her to his house on the pretence of meeting friends.

When she arrived, he bound her, gagged her and later raped her, taking her virginity.

But the nightmare was far from over.

He secretly filmed her showering and then threatened to go public with the footage unless she became his wife.

She ended up marrying him last year.

Fake Facebook page

The 34-year-old UK businessman, who was already married to another, pleaded guilty to forced marriage, four counts of rape, one of bigamy and one of voyeurism.

He was jailed on Wednesday (June 10) for 16 years.

The man was not named to protect the identity of the 25-year-old woman.

The court heard that the man had targeted the woman for several years.

He even managed to convince her that a former boyfriend of hers was gay by setting up a fake Facebook page.

'Constant threats'

In court, judge Daniel Williams said the defendant used "constant threats" to try to keep his victim quiet.

"When you first raped her, she was still a virgin – something which you would use to ensure her silence," he said.

"It was your intention to cause her irreparable harm so that no-one would want her.

"She was told that if she did not submit to your demands her parents would be killed."

The judge added: "While you have pleaded guilty... there has been no genuine show of remorse."

First conviction

A forced marriage is defined as one in which one or both spouses do not consent to the marriage but are coerced into it by physical, psychological, financial, sexual or emotional pressure.

This is the UK's first conviction for forced marriage after laws banning forced marriage came into effect in June last year.

Sources: Sky News, The Guardian, ITV, AFP

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