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'Sexual predator' jailed for life | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A convicted serial rapist who was out on licence after serving 10 years in prison, has been sentenced to life for raping a teenage girl. | |
Richard Ewing, aged 41, originally from Devon, pleaded guilty to five charges over the attack on the 17-year-old in fields in Weymouth, Dorset, on 22 July. | Richard Ewing, aged 41, originally from Devon, pleaded guilty to five charges over the attack on the 17-year-old in fields in Weymouth, Dorset, on 22 July. |
He was convicted of two counts of rape, attempted rape, kidnapping and sexual assault at Dorchester Crown Court. | |
Ewing was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of nine years. | Ewing was sentenced to life in prison, to serve a minimum of nine years. |
Judge John Beashel said: "This is not a nine-year prison sentence. It is a life sentence. "It potentially is a sentence that could lead to you remaining in prison for the rest of your life. | |
"Your victim was a virgin aged 17 years. She is of slight build. You are a powerful and fit man. | |
"You have demonstrated all too clearly that no matter the restrictions placed on you outside of prison you will find a way to obtain sexual gratification by attacking women. | |
"You are a very dangerous sexual predator." | |
'Demon inside' | |
More than 100 police officers took part in a national search for Ewing after the attack in the summer. | |
He was found three days later by an off-duty chief superintendent near Bournemouth. Following his arrest, Ewing told police he had a "demon inside" him. | |
He said: "Even though I knew it was wrong, I'm wasting the rest of my life, but I still couldn't do anything about it." | |
He added: "Whoever it was has had his wicked way and left me to deal with it." | |
Previous convictions | |
In 1995, Ewing was convicted at Exeter Crown Court of raping a mother-of-three in 1989, attacking a woman in 1993 and raping a woman as she walked her dog along the River Exe in Devon in the same year. | In 1995, Ewing was convicted at Exeter Crown Court of raping a mother-of-three in 1989, attacking a woman in 1993 and raping a woman as she walked her dog along the River Exe in Devon in the same year. |
He received an 18-year sentence for rape but was released from prison on his mandatory non-parole date in December 2005. | He received an 18-year sentence for rape but was released from prison on his mandatory non-parole date in December 2005. |
Ewing had been staying in "approved" accommodation in Westway Road, Weymouth, at the time of the attack in July and was subject to a curfew and electronic tagging. | |
Martin Meeke QC, prosecuting, told Dorchester Crown Court the probation service could not have done any more in terms of supervising Ewing. | |
"There was no discretion in the Home Office or the Parole Board as to his release. He was entitled to be released," he said. | |
Ewing has been ordered to reregister as a sex offender. |
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