‘ONE of the gravest offences of rape one can imagine’ took place when a man grabbed a pensioner as she walked along a country lane, dragged her into a ditch and raped her.
And after hearing of the ‘degradation and humiliation’ to which he subjected his victim, a judge at Coventry Crown Court has said he can see no end to the risk Glenroy Barnes poses to women.
Barnes, 27, from Rugby of no fixed address, was given an extended prison sentence after pleading guilty to raping and sexually assaulting his victim.
He was jailed for 12 years and nine months, of which he will have to serve at least eight-and-a-half years before the Parole will consider whether it is safe for him to be freed.
But he will only be released before serving the whole sentence if it is safe to do so, and will then be on licence for the rest of the time and for an additional five years.
Prosecutor Siobhan Collins said Barnes had a number of previous convictions for robbery and violence.
And since 2015 he had been convicted for seven offences of exposure after exposing himself to female prison officers.
Miss Collins said that on February 7 this year Barnes went out with his dog to a village pub in the wider Rugby area, and left after having a number of drinks.
Later, a 76-year-old woman walking along a rural lane became concerned when she saw Barnes lying in a field and, realising something was not right, turned to walk away.
Miss Collins pointed out that the pensioner was one of three women who had seen Barnes exposing himself in a churchyard following an Armistice Day service in November last year.
Although none of them had been able to identify Barnes, she recognised his dog, and as she walked away, Barnes ran after her.
“The defendant grabbed her round her body. She screamed and told him to stop, but he dragged her to the grass verge and pushed her down into a ditch, causing immediate pain to her hip, and he went into the ditch after her.”
He exposed himself and told her to perform a sex act on him, threatening to rape and kill her if she did not.
She could not fight him off, so had no choice but to do what he demanded.
Barnes then performed another act of sexual assault on her and, after she said she would not go to the police, pulling her out of the ditch and walking her back towards the village.
His elderly victim was terrified he was going to kill her, and when they reached some houses she slumped over the bonnet of a car parked in the road.
The occupants of the house came out, at which Barnes, claiming his victim was his grandmother, squared up to the couple before walking away.
They helped his sobbing victim into their home and called for the police and an ambulance.
Meanwhile, Barnes had gone back to a relative’s home where, after a row, he was arrested as he smashed the windows of another relative’s car.
After he was linked to the attack, his victim and the couple who had helped her later identified him, and forensic tests showed her DNA and blood under his fingernails.
Miss Collins added that in a statement the pensioner spoke of the huge emotional impact the attack had had on her, and of her desire to scrub herself clean, but that she was determined her ordeal was not going to defeat her.
Peter Cooper, defending, said: “He says he has little recollection. He had had a lot of alcohol and had not been taking his ADHD medication. He wants me to say he is sorry for the appalling ordeal this lady went through.”
Jailing Barnes, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC said: “I have read her victim impact statement. Rarely are such statements so moving. This has had an enormous impact on that person.
Of the rape, the judge said: “He grabbed her and threw her into a ditch, and immediately the sexual offences began.
“He got her out of the ditch and moved her along. I have absolutely no doubt he was moving her to another location, and that the offences would not stop.
“This is one of the gravest offences of rape one can imagine. There was degradation and humiliation, and there was violence and threats beyond what was required for the offence.
“I find Mr Barnes does present a clear and present danger, and I can see no end to it,” added Judge Lockhart, who also ordered Barnes to register as a sex offender for life.
