A woman who was woken in the middle of the night by a would-be rapist has bravely faced her attacker in court.
She has told how she had been left suffering from nightmares after vile Jason Hobson tried to rape her in her bed at her Burton home, before forcing her to drive him to a cashpoint to withdraw money from her account.
The woman courageously read out her own victim impact statement in court about the ongoing effects the attack had on her life since Hobson crept into her bedroom while she was asleep and shone a torch in her face before trying to rape her, reports StaffordshireLive.
She told Stafford Crown Court during Hobson's sentencing hearing: "To my dying day I will carry with me the memory of me opening my eyes and seeing a stranger shining a torch at me. I remember thinking I was going to die.”
In February last year, the woman was asleep in her bed and was woken by a dark figure shining a torch in her face, the court heard.
He tried to rape her and then made her perform a sex act on him. Hobson's DNA was later found on her bed sheets.
After he was arrested Hobson tried to claim to police he was in some sort of relationship with the woman and any sexual acts were consensual. The victim had never met him before that terrible night, the court heard.
Jailing Hobson for 12-and-a-half years, Judge Graeme Smith told him: "This woman was undoubtedly terrified. Woken at night would be bad enough for anyone but to endure a sexual assault and attempted rape over a protracted period of time can only add to the terror she felt.
"She feels it in herself to forgive you. This is an extraordinary act of forgiveness by someone who is a victim of a deeply serious and unpleasant offence.
"You went way beyond anything you have done before. You simply gave in to your darker impulses."
Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Martin Ottey, of Staffordshire Police's rape and serious sexual offences unit, said: "I applaud the courage of the victim who supported our investigation which resulted in Hobson being brought to justice.
"I hope today’s sentence provides some form of closure and comfort knowing Hobson will be behind bars for the next 12-and-a-half years."
"My message to anyone who has had a sexual offence committed against them is that your voice will be heard."
Hobson will serve two-thirds of his sentence in jail.
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