By Tony O’Riley-
A man who threatened a woman with a knife, before raping her when she resisted an attempt by him to kiss her, has been jailed for 12 years.
Martin Twort, formerly of Byfield Road, St James, was yesterday, Thursday jailed for 12 years at Northampton Crown Court after being found guilty at a trial in October during which his victim gave evidence. The crime took place nearly ten years ago in 2012, leading Twort to believe he had got away with his crimes and escape justice.
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The 31-year-old had denied the charge, but a jury unanimously found him guilty after less than three hours of deliberation.A jury was told how the victim had been picked up by a man as she was walking home in 2012.
As she came out of a shop in central Northampton, a man in a car pulled over and asked her if she wanted a lift and, feeling unwell, she accepted.
She was then driven away, eventually arriving at a secluded spot somewhere between Moulton and Pitsford where, after resisting his attempts to kiss her, Twort produced a knife and threatened to kill her before dragging her from the car and violently raping her.
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Twort warned his victim she would be killed if she went to the police.
A security guard eventually found the distressed and terrified victim wandering along a road at 2.10am the following day.
She had suffered a number of injuries, including extensive bruising across her body and while statutory DNA swabs were taken on recovered bodily fluids, they provided no matches on the database and the case went unsolved for a further five years.
In July 2017, however, Twort, who now lives in Great Yarmouth, was arrested on an unrelated matter.
While that investigation never reached court, a DNA swab was taken as part of the inquiry that matched that of the one taken during the rape investigation of 2012 and Twort was arrested.
In a victim impact statement, the woman described a scar on her forearm caused by the knife used in the attack as a ‘constant reminder of what took place in 2012’.
Speaking after the sentencing, DS Julie Gallagher, who led the Northamptonshire Police investigation, said the victim had finally got the justice she deserved.
She said: “This was a sickeningly violent rape and the sentence reflects the seriousness of Twort’s crime.
“He now has many years ahead of him to reflect on the brutality of what he did that night and I hope the victim will find some comfort in him being in prison for a significant amount of time.
“Northamptonshire Police’s Cold Case Team worked tremendously hard on this investigation which has successfully led to a dangerous and violent rapist being locked up.”
Det Supt Emma James, head of Crime at Northamptonshire Police, added: “This force is committed to working relentlessly to combat violence against women and girls and this case should serve as a reminder that we will continue to go after perpetrators no matter how long ago their offending happened.”
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