Rapist is jailed for attacking woman and girl

A RAPIST who attacked a woman at a remote barn in Charfield has been jailed for 20 years.

Leon Austin, aged 31, raped the woman multiple times after plying her with alcohol.

After his arrest he was then charged with attacking a teenager in Gloucestershire in 2018.

Austin, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to five counts of rape – two relating to 2018 and three to 2022 – and one count of attempting to choke, suffocate or strangle with intent to commit rape in January.

He was jailed at Bristol Crown Court in March.

His Honour Judge Michael Cullum described Austin as a dangerous offender and a man who posed a significant risk to women.

He also praised the victims’ for their courage.

Officer in the case DC Carl Spicer said: “Austin is sexual predator who targeted younger vulnerable and alone females, providing them with drink or drugs. He then ignored their wishes when they did not consent to sex.

"Both women have shown incredible levels of bravery and courage to report what happened to them and they should feel proud that by doing so has meant a dangerous man is behind bars.

"While I hope this sentence brings them both some closure, it is important to recognise the impact of what they have been through is far-reaching and this hearing doesn’t magically erase what has happened."

The court heard that in August last year Austin and a woman in her 20s, went to a number of pubs before visiting the home of one of his friends.

The following morning Austin offered to drive the woman home but made sexual advances to her in the car, and when she said no he stopped at a remote barn and raped her.

The woman ran away and managed to flag down a passing motorist and called the police, while Austin drove from the scene.

In a statement read to the court, she said been "crippled by an overwhelming fear to do anything" on some days since the attack, and had struggled to sleep or return to work.

She said: "My friends struggle to understand what happened, they don’t want to be around me because I am not my usually happy self. I am often difficult to be around.

“My relationship and outlook on men in general has completely changed. I am so scared and intimidated of any man."

Austin's earlier victim, who was 17 when she was attacked at a caravan he was staying at in Berkeley, said her self-confidence had been "completely destroyed".