Soldier jailed for brutal sexual attack on Plymouth woman
Horrifying CCTV footage shows a rapist army corporal stalking a woman around a nightclub before submitting her to a chilling attack which has been described as “the stuff of nightmares”. Sam Evans, who was a gunner with the Royal Artillery Regiment’s 29 Commando, carried out the “prolonged” ordeal that has “destroyed” the life of his female victim, who he met on the Tinder dating app.
He took the woman back to his flat, made her take down her jeans and underwear and then went on to “utterly humiliate” her.
The 29-year-old put a pillow over the woman’s head, strangled her, and spat on her. He went on to rape her and urinate on her, leaving her feeling fearful that she might not get out of the property alive.
He was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court yesterday to 14 years in prison and four years on licence for rape, assault by penetration, assault leading to actual bodily harm, and intentional strangulation.
During his trial the jury watched chilling CCTV which shows how the police pieced together how Evans made the victim go to his home.
First there is video of Evans following his victim as she is helped to a taxi before they are seen heading through Plymouth in the taxi.
Footage from petrol station forecourt cameras shows that, instead of going to her address, he took her to Devonport, which is near his home.
They stop to get money to pay the cab driver and then Evans sends the taxi away.
He then leads her down several streets while she is intoxicated and vulnerable having lost her mobile phone – all under the pretence of getting her home safely.
Once they were at his flat he subjected her to the horrifying attack.
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During the trial, the court heard that the pair connected through a dating app in the two months before the assault. Evans, based at Plymouth Citadel at the time, had persistently tried to meet her in person but the victim was not interested.
On July 2 last year she was out with friends at Annabel’s nightclub in Plymouth when Evans turned up with friends.
He knew that she was a regular at the venue and CCTV footage shows him following her around the club, watching her from a distance.
When the victim became separated from friends, she was approached outside by Evans who had called a taxi.
He immediately wanted to go to his house, but she insisted on going to a North Hill bar to meet her friends, arriving around 4am.
After an hour she wanted to go home and a concerned friend took her to a nearby taxi rank.
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Evans followed and assured the friend he would get her home safely by sharing the taxi.
Speaking after the case, the victim described how the attack had changed her life.
She said: “Sexual assault is more than just a physical assault; my body is the shell in which I hold everything that I am.
“A violation to someone’s body is a violation to the very core of a person.
“It is hard to put into words the irreparable damage Sam Evans has caused me.
She added: “I will not let what happened defeat me, this will be the making, not breaking of me.
“I will now use my experience and strength gained in these last nine months to help others like myself.
“My life has changed, but it has gone in a new direction. Above all else, I want other survivors to know that there is life and hope again after sexual assault.”
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