Elderly rape victim sees her attacker jailed for seven years

A man from Bath who raped a woman in her 70s has been jailed for seven years.

Adrian Barnett, 40, of Walwyn Close, Twerton, was found guilty after a trial last week.

He had raped the woman in the city earlier this year, but had denied the offence, forcing his victim to endure the ordeal of giving evidence at his trial.

Det Sgt Lisa Matthews, from Avon and Somerset police's public protection unit, praised the woman's courage.

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She said: "My thoughts are with the victim in this investigation, who bravely gave evidence during the trial about a rape committed against her by a manipulative sexual predator.

"I am pleased with the verdict and sentence passed by the court, which I hope provides the victim with some closure, and allows her to move on with her life, knowing that he will serve a lengthy custodial sentence for the crime committed against her.

"I hope that both the public and the victim will rest assured that on his release from prison he will be managed in the community by the police as a registered sex offender. The aim of this is to reduce the opportunity for him to further offend."

She added: "Rape and sexual assault are awful crimes to deal with and come to terms with and I would urge anyone who may have been the victim of any sexual assault, past or present, to come forward and talk to specially trained staff who will do as much as they possibly can to help and support them."

Anyone who may have been a victim of rape or sexual assault can report the matter to the police on 999 or 101.